Table of Contents
Definition / general | Case reports | Gross description | Gross images | Microscopic (histologic) description | Microscopic (histologic) images | Positive stains | Differential diagnosisCite this page: Ehdaivand S. Mucinous cystadenoma / adenofibroma. PathologyOutlines.com website. https://www.pathologyoutlines.com/topic/ovarytumormucinousbenign.html. Accessed June 20th, 2021.
Definition / general
- Includes cystadenoma, cystadenofibroma and adenofibroma (rare)
- Lesions are a spectrum of benign lesions with varying amounts of cysts, glands, and stroma - the distinction is arbitrary
- 5% bilateral
- Associations: carcinoid tumors in same ovary, dermoid cyst, Brenner tumor, endocervical adenocarcinoma; rarely with Zollinger-Ellison syndrome
Case reports
- 69 year old woman with cholesterol granuloma in lymph node draining ovarian cystadenoma (Arch Pathol Lab Med 1985;109:1124)
Gross description
- Smooth surface with multiple cystic spaces, variable amounts of solid areas
- Unilocular cysts are almost always benign
- Filled with translucent viscous fluid
Gross images
AFIP images
Mucinous cystadenoma
Associated with dermoid cyst
Microscopic (histologic) description
- Tall, columnar, nonciliated cells, basal nuclei, abundant intracellular mucin
- Usually endocervical type; also intestinal type (picket fence architecture with Paneth cells) or mixed
- Stroma may be fibrous or mimic ovarian stroma
- Tumor may be hypercellular or luteinized, often with calcifications
- May have microscopic rupture of cysts with inflammatory reaction including histocytes and necrosis
- Small bland papillae may be present, and mild, focal cytologic atypia may be present
- Adenofibroma: may have crowded glands with atypia (Am J Surg Pathol 1991;15:227)
Microscopic (histologic) images
AFIP images
Surface epithelial inclusion cyst
Mucinous adenofibroma
Mucinous cystic tumor
Luteinization of
stroma resulting
in virilization
during pregnancy
Mucinous cystadenoma
Positive stains
- CEA, keratin, EMA, amylase (20%)
- Usually CK7+/CK20- (Am J Clin Pathol 2002;117:944)
Differential diagnosis
