Pemphigus is a group of rare autoimmune diseases that affect the skin and mucous membranes (the moist surfaces inside your mouth, nose, throat, and genitals). The outer layer of these tissues is made of keratinocytes, which are flat cells arranged like tiles on a roof. In pemphigus, the immune system produces antibodies that target specific …
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Melanosis coli is a harmless condition that affects the large intestine (colon). In this condition, the lining of the colon turns dark brown or black due to a buildup of a pigment called lipofuscin. This pigment develops within cells that line the inside surface of the colon. Melanosis coli is noncancerous and typically related to …
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Atypical small acinar proliferation, or ASAP, is a term a pathologist uses when a prostate biopsy shows a small group of glands that look suspicious for cancer. There is not enough evidence in these glands to make a definite diagnosis. ASAP is not a diagnosis of cancer, and it is not a disease on its …
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Poorly differentiated carcinoma is a carcinoma (a cancer that starts in the epithelial cells lining the surfaces of organs) whose cells look very abnormal and no longer resemble the healthy tissue they came from. The word differentiated describes how closely cancer cells still look like normal cells. When a carcinoma is poorly differentiated, the cells …
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In a pathology report, the term non-diagnostic means that the pathologist was not able to make a diagnosis based on the tissue or sample that was provided. This result does not mean the sample is normal or healthy—it simply means that there was not enough information in the sample to make a clear conclusion. Non-diagnostic …
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Follicular neoplasm is a preliminary diagnosis used by pathologists to describe a growth in the thyroid gland made up of cells that look like the follicular cells of the thyroid. This term is most often used after a procedure called a fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB), in which a small sample of cells is taken from …
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Fibrocystic change is a noncancerous (benign) condition of the breast made up of several related changes that often occur together, including cysts, fibrosis, apocrine metaplasia, and adenosis. It is very common, affecting up to 60% of women of reproductive age, and it can involve one or both breasts. Fibrocystic change is not a disease, and …
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What is an inflammatory polyp in the stomach? An inflammatory polyp is a non-cancerous growth that develops from the tissue that lines the inside of the stomach. Another name for this growth is a hyperplastic polyp. What causes an inflammatory polyp? Most inflammatory polyps in the stomach are associated with a condition called chronic gastritis …
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Flat epithelial atypia (FEA) is a non-cancerous change in the small glands of the breast called terminal duct lobular units. In flat epithelial atypia, the normal cells lining these glands are replaced by one or more layers of mildly abnormal cells. The cells are usually cuboidal or column-shaped and can look similar to the cells …
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Papillary lesion of the breast is a term pathologists use to describe a group of breast tumours that look similar when examined under the microscope. This group includes both non-cancerous tumours and cancers. Papillary lesion is a preliminary diagnosis. Typically, the entire tumour needs to be removed and examined before a final diagnosis can be …
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