Peculiar artifacts mimicking carcinoma

Artifacts that mimic malignancy may lead to diagnostic difficulty and can c ause serious consequences. We present 2 cases received in consultation whic h demonstrated peculiar artifacts that closely mimicked carcinoma. In case 1, contaminating products of conception were confused with squamous cell ca rcinoma. In case 2, artifactual signet ring cells induced by procedural tra uma were suspicious for signet ring cell carcinoma. In both cases, clinical correlation failed to completely exclude carcinoma, and limited tissue pre vented use of ancillary studies. Our final resolution of these artifacts re quired lengthy and detailed morphologic analysis.