EXTRAMEDULLARY HEMATOPOIESIS IN THE ENDOMETRIUM - REPORT OF POUR CASES AND REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Extramedullary hematopoiesis is extremely rare in the absence of any h ematologic disorder or systemic disease, and there have been no report s of this condition in the endometrium. The authors describe the cases of four patients who complained of irregular uterine bleeding, lower abdominal pain, or both. Microscopic examination of the curetted endom etria showed chronic inflammation in two patients, chronic inflammatio n and leiomyomas in one patient, and a well-differentiated adenosquamo us adenocarcinoma with adenomyosis and leiomyomas in one patient. Ligh t-microscopic examination of curetted sections from all four patients revealed isolated foci of extramedullary hematopoiesis composed of one or more lineages of blood cell precursors. Sufficient tissue was avai lable from two patients to confirm hematopoietic differentiation throu gh immunohistologic analysis, using antibodies to von Willebrand facto r, ABH blood group antigens, CD34, and CD15.