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A rare case of syringomatous carcinoma of the breast in a 64-year-old female patient is reported. The tumor, occurring in the left breast, measured 1 cm. A quadrantectomy was performed and the patient presented no further recurrence or metastasis. Histologically, the neoplasm was composed of small tubules, often dilated, sometimes with a "tadpole" appearance, lined by epithelial flattened cells, and of keratinizing squamous cysts embedded in a desmoplastic stroma. Some tumors occurring in other anatomic sites show histologic features similar to those of syringomatous carcinoma of the breast: infiltrating syringomatous adenoma of the nipple, syringomatous carcinoma of the skin, syringomatous adenocarcinoma of minor salivary glands; such lesions seem to be part of a group of neoplasms characterized by local infiltrative growth, absence of metastasis and characteristic histologic features (syringomatous tumors).

The infiltration of the epidermis by malignant melanocytes is a characteristic phenomenon of cutaneous melanoma. A series of consecutive unselected cutaneous melanomas was histologically reviewed in order to study the frequency and the characters of epidermal infiltration. Such a feature was found in 86% of tumors (93% in superficial spreading melanomas); it was extensive in 65% of cases, focal in 35%; topographically, it was central and peripheral in 67%, peripheral in 30%, central in 3%. Results show that epidermal infiltration, albeit inconstant, is a useful feature in the histological diagnosis of melanoma (especially in SSM), provided that it is distinguished from pseudoinfiltration, a histologically similar, but intrinsecally different, feature observed in some benign melanocytic lesions.

Eight cases of melanoma of the lower female urogenital tract are presented. The lesions were located 5 in the vulva, 2 in the vagina and 1 in the urethra. Patients had a mean age of 58.3 (range 43-80). Most of vulvar melanomas were polypoid and black, 3 of them arose in the major labium, 2 in clitoris area; histologically, four tumors were superficial spreading melanomas and one unclassifiable. Grossly, one vaginal melanoma was nodular, one polypoid, both were black and arose in the lower vagina. Urethral melanoma arose in the distal part of the organ. Prognosis of gynecological melanoma is severe, as 5 out of 8 patients died in 5-52 months.

Histological analysis of intraepidermal melanocytic proliferation in the peripheral areas of superficial spreading melanoma. The intraepidermal melanocytic proliferation in the areas adjacent to the invasive component of 100 superficial spreading melanomas of the skin (levels III and IV) was studied. Three patterns were identified: 1) melanoma in situ type (MIS); 2) melanocytic dysplasia type (DYS); 3) normal skin or increased number of typical melanocytes (0). The different distribution of these patterns in the areas adjacent to the invasive melanoma led to a histological classification of the tumors into 4 topographical models. Two models showed MIS areas and contiguous normal skin (A1, A2); two models showed MIS areas adjacent to DYS areas, that in turn were contiguous to normal skin (B1, B2). In all cases, however, in centrifugal sense, more severe alterations preceded less severe ones. These observations suggest that superficial spreading melanoma grows horizontally by induction of neighbour cells (neoplastic recruitment). The neoplastic transformation seems to progress in two ways: directly to melanoma in situ or through an intermediate phase (melanocytic dysplasia).

The fine needle aspiration findings of a carotid body paraganglioma observed in a female patient aged 18 showed a pattern similar to that of previously described cases, but also some other morphological features to be noticed: a continuous spectrum of nuclear volumetric variations, rosette-like structures, cell embracing phenomenon and characteristics nuclear clear areas. We believe that these findings may help in the cytological distinction of carotid body paraganglioma from other laterocervical neoplasms.