Characterization of undifferentiated malignant spindle cell tumors : a practical immunohistochemical study in Kurdistan region, Iraq

Abstract EN

Objective : The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of immunohistochemistry in characterization of undifferentiated malignant spindle cell tumors in Kurdistan region, Iraq.

Methods : The study extended from April 2008 to June 2010.

Overall, 102 cases were reported as undifferentiated malignant spindle cell tumors in the histopathology departments of Kurdistan region, Iraq.

Immunophenotyping done was streptavidin-biotin method on paraffin sections.

Results : In the studied sample, malignant spindle cell tumors were more frequently located in the bone and soft tissue (28.4 %), followed by gastrointestinal tract (17.6%) and respiratory tract (12.8 %), female genital tract formed (9.8 %), central nervous system (7.8 %), urinary tract (5.9 %), lymph nodes (4.9 %) and skin (3.9 %).

The remainder cases were (8.6 %) were miscellaneous.

Sarcoma group was at the top of the diagnosis list and the main bulk (50 %) followed by sarcomatoid carcinoma (10.8%), gastrointestinal stromal tumor (7.8 %) and melanoma (6.9 %).

Glioblastoma multiforme, malignant meningioma and mesothelioma were diagnosed in 2.9 % of cases each while monophasic Wilm’s tumor, yolk sac tumor and carcinosarcoma were found in 1.9 % of cases each.

by the increasing number of good quality antibodies in addition to the improvements in antigen retrieval techniques.8-13 Nonetheless, it is vital that the accuracy of clinical evaluation and morphologic differential diagnosis will definitely determine the success of IHC as a supplementary tool.1-8 In the current study, we present an overview of undifferentiated malignant spindle cell tumors in Kurdistan Region, Iraq with inconclusive clinico-morphological diagnosis and detail the immunohistochemical approach to these biopsies.

The occurrence of these tumors and the way in which they were distributed according to the localization were also evaluated