2.a Tubal Metaplasia

Tubal Metaplasia

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Tubal metaplasia is a common phenomenon in the endocervical glands where endocervical cells become cuboidal and may show cilia. Tubal metaplasia also shows some crowing of the nuclei and hyperchromasia and therefore it can be misinterpreted as endocervical dysplasia or adenocarcinoma in situ. The absence of mitosis and apoptosis, as well as the presence of cilia help to establish a diagnosis of benign metaplastic changes. Immunohistochemistry with p16 can sometimes be misleading, because tubal metaplasia may show focal positivity.