Background: Spindle cell neoplasms of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract constitute a wide group of lesions that may raise diagnostic difficulties on hematoxylin-eosin-stained slides. Appropriate endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) technique with sufficient cell block material for immunohistochemistry (IHC) can lead to accurate diagnosis.Methods: This is a retrospective study of 29 cases obtained from our institution's records over a five-year period (2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015). Cytomorphology, histology (when available), IHC, FNA procedure details, imaging characteristics, and clinical history were reviewed. Rapid onsite evaluation (ROSE) was used in all cases. Cytologic samples were correlated with surgical pathology resection specimens when available.Results: Eighteen GI stromal tumors, six leiomyomas, two schwannomas, and one granular cell tumor were analyzed; two cases were not amenable for a definitive diagnosis: one showed fragments of smooth muscle not otherwise specified (smooth muscle vs. leiomyoma) and the other one was insufficient for diagnosis. Locations included stomach, esophagus, duodenum, and colon. EUS-FNA was performed with different gauge needles. Total number of passes ranged between two and nine. We found no evidence that larger-sized needles are superior in procuring adequate lesional tissue. Cell block material was stained with various antibodies. Fourteen surgical resection specimens available showed 100% correlation between cytology and histology. None of the neoplasms recurred until now; one patient succumbed to known esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.Conclusion: FNA is a pivotal and inexpensive method for rapid evaluation of GI spindle cell tumors and should be used widely in the attempt to avoid unnecessary surgery. Size of needle used for EUS-FNA does not seem to influence the yield of lesional tissue; rather, ROSE can guide the number of passes and subsequently lead to an adequate cell block. K E Y W O R D S endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration, gastrointestinal leiomyoma, gastrointestinal stromal tumor, needle gauge, passes

Metastases to the pancreas can be diagnosed via EUS-FNA, with enough specimen to conduct immunohistochemical studies if necessary to delineate origin. The determination of metastatic disease to the pancreas alters management and prognosis of the patient. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2017;45:418-425. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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Immunohistochemistry (IHC) is a well-established morphology adjunct enabling pathologists to make accurate diagnoses. Metastases to the liver is a common scenario where pathologists may rely heavily on IHC in their interpretation. We conducted this study to audit the patterns of IHC utilization in malignant liver biopsies in 3 practice types (academic, community, and expert) as an initial step toward developing best practice guidelines. A total of 1100 specimens were analyzed and the association between the availability of history of other malignancies and the practice type on IHC utilization was studied. Community pathologists were twice as likely to use IHC and to use more markers per case than academic pathologists or the expert pathologist. When history of another malignancy was available, pathologists were not only 1.5 times more likely to use IHC but they also used more markers per case. IHC was still deemed necessary to reach the diagnosis in 67% of cases with a given history of other malignancy. This study described several variables for consideration in our effort to develop IHC utilization guidelines and its results quantify the variance noted among practice types.

Hormographiella is a rare fungal pathogen in humans; however, case reports have described disseminated infection in immunocompromised hosts. This pathogen has been described to yield poor prognosis in patients who harbor it. Herein, we present a case report of autopsy-proven disseminated Hormographiella aspergillata infection, confirmed by DNA sequencing, in a patient experiencing a relapse of leukemia. This 54-year-old Caucasian man with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) that had been diagnosed in 1989, after having received a hematopoietic cell allotransplant from a compatible sibling donor, had B-cell lymphoid-blast phase of CML in April of 2013, with multiple relapses. His most recent relapse was in September of 2016, when bone marrow biopsy showed 90% blasts. The results of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cultures were positive for filamentous fungus infection. The patient developed encephalopathy and worsening respiratory statusand tachycardia with flutter and hypotension, which resulted in his death. At autopsy, bilateral pleural effusions, multiple right pleural nodules, and subarachnoid hemorrhage were noted. Angioinvasive hyphal fungi were found in the right frontal lobe of the brain and the right upper lobe of the lung. Morphologically, the fungi had multiseptate, branching hyphae. The bronchoalveolar lavage specimen grew a fungus for which the colony morphologic characteristics and microscopic features were compatible with a Hormographiella species. H. aspergillata from the bronchoalveolar lavage was further identified by sequencing the D2 hypervariable region of the large-subunit (LSU) ribosomal DNA gene and the full internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions.