Premium
Desmoplasia: not always a bad thing
Author(s) -
Abbas Ossama,
Mahalingam Meera
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
histopathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.626
H-Index - 124
eISSN - 1365-2559
pISSN - 0309-0167
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2559.2010.03617.x
Subject(s) - desmoplasia , malignancy , pathology , stroma , stromal cell , biology , neoplasm , medicine , immunohistochemistry
Abbas O & Mahalingam M
(2011) Histopathology 58 , 643–659
Desmoplasia: not always a bad thing Desmoplasia describes a histological pattern characterized by a hyalinized stroma and a minimal cellular infiltrate. In non‐cutaneous neoplasms, this pattern of stromal response is classically associated with malignancy, whereas in cutaneous pathology, desmoplasia is observed in malignant as well as benign neoplasms. Given this, the obvious question is whether desmoplasia associated with a benign neoplasm is any different from that associated with malignant tumours. Is the stromal response a mere epiphenomenon, or does it actually contribute to the biological behaviour of the neoplasm? What happens at the tumour–host interface? Which molecules are involved in mediating the desmoplastic reaction pattern? This review is an attempt to answer these questions. Examples of benign and malignant cutaneous neoplasms associated with the desmoplastic reaction pattern will be included.