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Pathology and Pathogenesis of Adenomyosis
Pathology and Pathogenesis of Adenomyosis
108
1 Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Johns Hopkins University Address for correspondence Ie-Ming Shih, MD, PhD, Department of
School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland Gynecology and Obstetrics, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, 1550
2 Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University School of Orleans Street, CRB2, RM305, Baltimore, MD (e-mail: ishih@jhmi.edu).
Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
Maintaining tissue specification and cohesiveness are cardi- Adenomyosis is a major gynecologic disorder causing chronic
nal features in multicellular organisms, and this evolution- pelvic pain, dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, infertility, and adverse
endowed tenet requires that adult tissues of the same type obstetric outcomes.2,3 It has been estimated that adenomyosis
stay together. Breaking this rule has serious consequences for affects 10 to 80% of premenopausal women, and its prevalence is
the organism as exemplified by tumor invasion and metas- even higher in women with infertility and chronic pelvic pain.4,5
tasis. An exception applies to two related benign and com- Like endometriosis, adenomyosis imposes a substantial socio-
mon gynecologic disorders, adenomyosis and endometriosis, economic burden from increased medical care and loss of work
in which normal-appearing endometrium resides in myo- productivity, without mentioning the compromised quality of
metrium and in peritoneal tissue, respectively (►Fig. 1).1 life.6,7 Here, we provide a succinct summary of our current
Thus, the pathologies of adenomyosis and endometriosis are understanding of adenomyosis from a pathology perspective.
unique among human nonmalignant diseases. Because of We discuss how the term “adenomyosis” has evolved from a
their anatomic locations and the unique microenvironments, historical background, the histopathological features, the chal-
the ectopic endometrial tissues may or may not observe the lenge in its classification, and current concepts pertaining to
ovarian hormonal cycles and can have molecular changes development of adenomyosis. We also propose critical tasks
that are distinct from eutopic endometrium despite their that are fundamentally important for accelerating progress,
similar morphological appearance. both biological and translational, in adenomyosis research.
Issue Theme Adenomyosis and Copyright © 2020 by Thieme Medical DOI https://doi.org/
Endometriosis; Guest Editors, Linda C. Publishers, Inc., 333 Seventh Avenue, 10.1055/s-0040-1718922.
Giudice, MD, PhD, MSc, Lisa M. New York, NY 10001, USA. ISSN 1526-8004.
Halvorson, MD, Elizabeth A. Stewart, MD, Tel: +1(212) 760-0888.
and Luk Rombauts, PhD, FRANZCOG, MD
Pathology and Pathogenesis of Adenomyosis Antero et al. 109
A Historical Perspective invade the underlying myometrium, as, in some cases, a direct
connection between uterine cavity and the heterotopic glands
First, let us wind back the clock to 1860 when Karl von could be seen.11 Another important contribution by Cullen was
Rokitansky initially described endometrial glands embedded that he attributed the pathology of adenomyosis to clinical
in the uterine myometrium.8 He named this condition phenotypes including lengthened menstrual periods and pel-
“cystosarcoma adenoids uterinum,” reflecting the essence vic pain. He further proposed that hysterectomy was the
of adenomyosis—glandular and sometimes cystic structures preferred treatment, as unlike a well-circumscribed leio-
forming tumor-like lesions in uteri. Chiari9 also observed a myoma it was often hard to dissect out adenomyomas because
similar lesion which he called “salpingitis isthmica nodosa their “growth was so interwoven with the normal muscle.”12
(SIN)” around the fallopian tube musculature and believed Cullen’s theory of mucosal invasion faced challenges for many
that it was a variant of adenomyosis. Subsequently, other years, as other contemporary theories argued that displace-
investigators in the late 19th century attempted to explain ment of mesonephric elements together with idiopathic stro-
the possible mechanisms for the establishment of adeno- mal hyperplasia were responsible for adenomyosis.13,14 It was
myosis. Meyer10 was the first to propose the theory of not until the 1920s that the endometrial origin of adenomyosis
“epithelial heterotopy,” an analogy to wound healing, where was widely accepted. This acceptance coincided with Samp-
epithelial cells would invade inflammatory tissue that was son’s theory of retrograde menstruation to explain how men-
damaged. He developed this theory after finding endometrial struated endometrial tissue caused endometriosis,15 and
glands in the suture lines of a patient who had undergone a helped to clarify that adenomyosis and endometriosis were
prior uterine ventrofixation secondary to pelvic pain. He two different disease entities, although both lesions were
thought that these glands were derived from either embry- thought to originate from uterine endometrium.
onic or “well-differentiated” cells. Finally, the term “adenomyosis uteri” was introduced in
Cullen, who established gynecologic pathology as a sub- 1925 by Frankl,16 who described the mucosal invasion of the
specialty of pathology at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, pio- myometrium. He explained that the term was chosen so that
neered a systematic and comprehensive description of what it remained clear that the condition was not caused by an
we know today as adenomyosis. He suggested a mechanism in inflammatory process as had been previously proposed. He
which endometrial glands and stroma in endometrium could also further differentiated adenomyomas from adenomyosis,
clinicopathological studies of adenomyosis. Tissue biomarkers microvessels than adjacent normal endometrium or eutopic
that help distinguish true adenomyosis from endometrial endometrium of disease-free women.37
extensions from the irregular border would be useful. Along The aforementioned pathologic features of adenomyosis
this line, upregulation of the biomarker STING (stimulator of can explain many of the commonly observed findings
interferon gene) has recently been reported to distinguish reported in ultrasound or MRI studies. Subendometrial
epithelial cells of adenomyosis from eutopic endometrium.29 echogenic linear striations, nodules, and/or asymmetrical
The endometrial–myometrial junctional zone located be- myometrial bulkiness may be related to muscular hypertro-
tween the endometrium and the inner myometrium has phy in different regions in reaction to the presence of ectopic
received much attention in adenomyosis research because endometrium. Moreover, hyperechoic islands and subendo-
this zone is often thickened and exhibits architectural changes metrial cysts can be a result of focal cystic dilatation of the
that may lead to abnormal uterine peristalsis.30,31 Architec- fluid-filled glands in adenomyosis. Thus, the irregular endo-
tural changes include loss of nerve fibers and smooth muscle metrial–myometrial junction may reflect the complex and
hypertrophy.32 At the ultrastructural level, these myocytes convoluted connection between endometrium and the un-
associated with adenomyosis show abnormal nuclear and derlying adenomyosis. In color Doppler sonography, a gen-
mitochondrial shapes, abundant myelin bodies and interme- eral increase in vascularity and in numbers of tortuous
diate filament aggregates, extensive endoplasmic reticulum, vessels penetrating myometrium is likely associated with
and increased expression of oxytocin receptors.33,34 Although enhanced angiogenesis. Thickening of the junctional zone,
these findings and their biological significance requires vali- visualized as a hypoechoic halo beneath the endometrial
Fig. 3 Atypical hyperplasia and low-grade endometrioid carcinoma arising from adenomyosis. (a) Foci of atypical hyperplasia within a
preexisting adenomyosis lesion. (b) An incipient low-grade endometrioid carcinoma arising from adenomyosis with cancerous tissue coexisting
with ectopic benign glandular tissue (hematoxylin and eosin stain 20 magnification).
Endometrioid carcinoma is the most common histological there is no consensus among pathologists regarding sam-
type of malignant transformation of adenomyosis, but pling hysterectomy specimens. Moreover, not all adenomy-
serous carcinoma, clear cell carcinoma, and poorly differen- otic lesions are created equal. It is plausible that other than
tiated carcinoma may also be seen.40 Pathologic findings conventional histopathology, adenomyosis can be classified
that suggest malignant transformation of adenomyosis according to developmental patterns or the molecular alter-
include the presence of cancerous tissue and ectopic endo- ations. Molecular classification would be welcome but ap-
metrial tissue in the same lesion, diagnosis of adenomyosis, pear to be out of reach until we better understand the
transformation evidence between benign and malignant pathogenesis of adenomyosis, and can correlate molecular
gland structures, and exclusion of other sources of tumor changes and clinical phenotypes.
invasion or metastasis.41 In addition to epithelial cells, Nevertheless, it is worth briefly reviewing classifications
stromal cells in adenomyosis can also undergo neoplastic that have been proposed in the past so that investigators can
transformation to form intramural adenosarcoma, but this design better studies for future classification of adenomyo-
is exceedingly rare. sis. Since the depth of myometrial involvement is the most
Other unusual subtypes of adenomyosis have been obvious histopathological feature of adenomyosis, many
described. As mentioned earlier, adenomyomas are a nod- investigators have proposed classification systems based
ular form of adenomyosis involving myometrium focally, on the depth of glands within the myometrium. This is
which distinguishes it from the diffuse appearance of analogous to endometrial carcinoma in which the depth of
conventional adenomyosis. Both adenomyomas and diffuse myometrial invasion by the cancer cells determines the FIGO
Pathogenesis of Adenomyosis superficial myometrium (►Fig. 4b). Several studies argue that
this involves a true invasion process. If this is the case, it would be
The pathogenesis of adenomyosis, especially the steps through different from that seen in carcinoma. If this were a bone fide
which normal-appearing endometrial tissue is displaced to invasion, both glandular epithelium and stroma would have to
myometrium, and the mechanisms by which adenomyotic foci acquire a constellation of complex molecular and cellular
cause symptoms, remain largely unclear. Current evidence changes including expression of proteases that degrade the
from histopathological observations and recent molecular extracellular matrix, enhanced motility, and the ability to
genetic studies indicates that adenomyosis is derived from comigrate and dissect into remarkably cohesive smooth muscle
invagination from the basal layer of endometrium into adja- layers. These features are highly unusual for any adult normal-
cent myometrium, a modern view resonant with what Cullen appearing tissues. Moreover, adenomyosis does not exhibit a
proposed almost one century ago. Tissue sections of adenomy- classical stromal reaction (desmoplasia), which is one of the
otic lesions that are prepared for pathology diagnosis almost hallmarks of tumor invasion under microscopic examination.
always show multiple irregularly shaped seemingly intercon- Rather, we propose that the genesis of adenomyosis derives
nected endometrial glands embedded in stroma. This is one of from an embryonic or an early postnatal invagination of the
the salient morphological features of adenomyosis, and sug- basal endometrium followed by extension deep into myome-
gests that the glands within adenomyosis are highly convolut- trium, likely associated with a physiological or pathological
ed, forming a labyrinth network, and do not display a simple defect of the endometrial–myometrial junction. This is sup-
arrangement (►Fig. 4a). This architecture of adenomyosis ported by reported cases of fetal and prepubescent adenomyosis
Fig. 4 Adenomyosis originating from the basal layer of endometrium. (a) A schematic representation of the development of adenomyosis with
the focal extension of a single clonally distinct endometrial gland from the endometrial basalis into the myometrium. In the myometrium, the
incipient adenomyosis continues to clonally expand to form intricate and interconnected glandular foci which are similar to the endometrial
basalis layer. Together with the “invading” gland, stromal cells also migrate and clonally expand. Different color lines (glands) and dots (stroma)
represent clonally distinct subpopulations. (b) Immunostaining of cytokeratin suggesting the process of early adenomyosis development. The
adenomyotic tissue appears to descend from the basal endometrium through the endometrial myometrial interface (dashed red line) with the
vertical “invasion” of ectopic glandular and stromal tissue into myometrium. (20 magnification).
tissue of disease-free controls. Indeed, eutopic endometrium analysis is limited, it remains to be confirmed if KRAS
in adenomyosis shows molecular changes which favor a mutations are important in the pathogenesis of adenomyosis
phenotype including increased angiogenesis and prolifera- and endometriosis, or if the mutations merely represent
tion, decreased apoptosis, impaired immune function, and clonal markers without biological consequences.
altered hormone levels (increased estrogen production and Endometriosis is a common finding in patients with
progesterone resistance).36,55–63 As a result, the basal layer adenomyosis and vice versa; both diseases cooccur in up
of eutopic endometrium has a propensity to migrate into to 80% of patients.35,68–70 Among different types of endome-
myometrium. If more comprehensive molecular studies are triosis (►Fig. 1), deeply infiltrative endometriosis is more
able to confirm these findings, it may help explain the origins commonly seen in women who have focal adenomyosis of
and pathogenesis of adenomyosis. the outer myometrium.69 Like adenomyosis, deeply infiltra-
Despite the histopathological evidence, the tissue origin tive endometriosis is characterized by the ectopic presence
of adenomyosis from eutopic endometrium has only recently of normal-appearing endometrial glands and stroma in the
received molecular validation; the identification of somatic smooth muscle layers of peritoneal organs such as urinary
mutations using next-generation sequencing has provided bladder and bowel wall. Imaging studies have also shown an
unequivocal evidence that adenomyosis develops from increased incidence of deeply infiltrative endometriosis and
eutopic endometrium.64 In many cases, the same somatic ovarian endometriomas in women with adenomyosis, spe-
mutations, including mutations in KRAS, could be detected in cifically in adenomyosis involving the outer portion of the
both adenomyosis and corresponding eutopic endometrium, myometrium.71–73 This suggests that adenomyosis and cer-
EBPβ acts as a transcription factor regulating expression of trium. Several studies have also suggested that the eutopic
genes that control cellular proliferation, differentiation, and endometrium is inherently different in women with versus
metabolism. C/EBPβ is also a key regulator of human endo- without adenomyosis. However, the data on this are not
metrial stromal proliferation and differentiation.79,80 Other conclusive, and more rigorous research employing new
pathways noted to be upregulated were IL-6, which has been technologies with a larger case cohort will be needed to
shown to be increased in adenomyotic stromal cells cocul- validate these conclusions.
tured with macrophages,59 and ERK/MAPK, which has been
associated with uterine smooth muscle proliferation in
Future Directions
women with adenomyosis.81
The aforementioned evidence supports that invagination Despite new progress in our understanding of the pathology
of the endometrial basalis into the myometrium is the and pathogenesis of adenomyosis, several fundamental
favored model for the genesis of adenomyosis, as both questions remain unanswered. Future pathology research
epithelial and stromal progenitor cells residing in basalis is needed to classify adenomyosis, and there is a pressing
are responsible not only for regenerating the entire func- need to understand the molecular and genetic underpin-
tional layer after menstruation but can also promote adeno- nings of this disease to facilitate new diagnostic and thera-
myosis development in the opposite direction. However, the peutic paradigms.
data should not be construed as supporting only this model Classification. Foremost is that a standardized classifica-
of the pathogenesis of adenomyosis. For example, it has also tion system is developed in pathology to accurately docu-
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