A case of ovarian psammocarcinoma associated with endometrioid cysts: a morphological and immunohistochemical study

Background. Psammocarcinoma of the ovary is an uncommon neoplasm, currently classified among the low-grade epithelial serous tumors. Little is known about its pathogenesis and biological behavior. Case. A 35-year-old woman underwent laparotomic myomectomy and surgical removal of the right gonad after the incidental discovery of an adnexal mass. The pathological findings were consistent with serous psammocarcinoma and multiple endometrioid cysts of the ovary. Tissue specimens from the neoplasm were tested by immunohistochemistry for the p53, HER-2/neu and bcl-2 cancer-related proteins; diffuse overexpression for bcl-2 was detected, while tumor cells were negative for p53 and HER-2/neu. Conclusion. Although the pathogenesis and clinical course of ovarian psammocarcinoma are still to be determined, the molecular profile of this case highlights the similarities with ovarian tumors of the serous borderline group