2016 Volume 55 Issue 6 Pages 406-411
Background : Collagenous spherulosis (CS) consists of intraluminal clusters of small cells and hyalinized spherules, simulating cribriform growth. We describe the cytological aspects and stainability of the components in the spherules.
Case : A female in her fifties was detected as having a mass in the breast by ultrasonography. Fine-needle aspiration cytology revealed interstitial mucinous spherules (MS) and hyalinized spherules. The MS ranged in diameter from 44 to 110 μm. Among of them, intermediate-sized MS surrounded by cuboid cells with round nuclei showed pale purple staining. Small-sized MS showed light green staining. A few had a star-shaped structure inside. Hyalinized spherules measured approximately 40 μm in diameter, and were stained green. Immunocytochemically, the hyalinized spherules showed positive staining for type Ⅳ collagen and laminin, and positive PAS reaction. The cells with naked oval nuclei rimming the hyalinized spherules were positive staining for p63. Within the cell clusters, the cells in the vicinity of the hyalinized spherules showed positive staining for p63, while the cells that were located away were negative for p63.
Conclusion : CS is composed of spherical basement membrane material produced by myoepithelial cells. The presence of CS, so-called hyalinized spherules, suggests the presence of mature myoepithelial cells. Therefore, CS is can become a predictive factor of breast benign lesions.
