Cytopathology in the Philippines is currently practiced by board-certified anatomic pathologists who receive only a three-month rotation in the discipline during their four-year combined Anatomic and Clinical Pathology residency training. At present, the country lacks a formal fellowship program in cytopathology, and no national core curriculum has been developed for this subspecialty. Local pathologists with advanced training and extensive experience in cytopathology recognized by the Philippine Society of Pathologists, Inc. (PSP) developed the first national core curriculum for cytopathology fellowship training. This initiative marks the first locally developed guideline for cytopathology fellowship training in the Philippines, representing a significant milestone in the advancement of subspecialty pathology education in the country.

Human ; Cytology

Adenocarcinoma, HPV-independent, gastric type of the uterine cervix comprises only 10-15% of all cervical adenocarcinomas. A rare case of which, with metastasis to the uterine corpus and bilateral ovaries, is described. A 43-year-old female (G0P0) presented with menorrhagia and right flank pain radiating to the hypogastrium. Physical examination revealed an immovable, tender mass at the right lower quadrant with a nodular, firm cervix. Transabdominal ultrasound revealed multiseptated ovarian masses. The right and left ovaries were sent for frozen section and was diagnosed as Mucinous Cystadenoma and Mature Cystic Teratoma, respectively. Hysterectomy revealed a detached and fragmented cervix with irregular, abnormally shaped glands lined by a single layer of columnar cells with bland, basally located nuclei and clear cytoplasm associated with desmoplasia, findings which were also seen in the endomyometrium and ovaries. These tumor cells were CK7 positive and negative for ER, PR, CK20 and CDX2. The patient died six months after surgery. The presence of benign appearing glands is a diagnostic challenge. Despite the appearance, they may be malignant and should be investigated rigorously.