2020 Online Salon
Progression of inclusion cysts to serous borderline tumors and low-grade serous carcinoma

Project Details
- Entrant Name: Lydia Gregg
- Membership Type: Professional Submission
- Address: Baltimore, Maryland USA
- Client: Dr. Ie-Ming Shih
- Copyright: 2020 Johns Hopkins University
- Medium/software used: Adobe Photoshop, Cinema 4D, Zbrush
- Final presentation format: Figure within a review article
- Primary Audience: Pathologists
Project Description
This illustration depicts inclusion cysts progressing to serous borderline tumors (SBT) and low-grade serous carcinoma (LGSC) of the ovary. These lesions are often present simultaneously although they represent a continuum.
The main image shows the fimbria of the fallopian tube with a histological inset depicting how epithelial cells shed and implant on the ovary as an inclusion cyst. The second inset depicts the result of epithelial cell proliferation to form an SBT on the cyst wall. The lower half of the inset shows an area of SBT that has mutated into LGSC, with dense, irregular cells that invade the cyst wall. Calcifications called psammoma bodies are shown as a hallmark of these tumors.
A section of the cyst in the main image has been removed to show the “cauliflower” appearance of SBTs compared to the solid look of LGSC, which metastasizes. Arrows convey the continuum from fimbria cells to metastases. SBTs are also shown implanted on the cyst exterior.