Endometrial Intraepithelial Neoplasia (EIN) in Endometrial Biopsy Specimens Categorized by the 1994 World Health Organization Classification for Endometrial Hyperplasia

Our study is to determine the presence of endometrial intraepithelial neoplasia (EIN) in endometrial biopsyspecimens classified by the 1994 World Health Organization (WHO) criteria for endometrial hyperplasia.Endometrial biopsy specimens that were stained with hematoxylin and eosin (HE) were examined andcategorized by the WHO 1994 criteria and for the presence of EIN as defined by the International EndometrialCollaborative Group. β-catenin expression was examined by immunohistochemistry. A total of 474 cases of HEstained endometrial biopsy tissues were reviewed. There were 379 cases of simple endometrial hyperplasia, 16with simple atypical endometrial hyperplasia, 48 with complex endometrial hyperplasia, and 31 with complexatypical endometrial hyperplasia. Among the 474 endometrial hyperplasia cases, there were 46 (9.7%) thatwere classified as EIN. Of these 46 cases, 11(2.9%) were classified as simple endometrial hyperplasia, 1 (6.3%)as simple atypical endometrial hyperplasia, 6 (12.5%) as complex endometrial hyperplasia, and 28 (90.3%) ascomplex atypical endometrial hyperplasia. EIN was associated with a higher rate of β-catenin positivity thanendometrium classified as benign hyperplasia (72% vs. 22.5%, respectively, P < 0.001), but a lower rate thanendometrial adenocarcinoma (72% vs. 96.2%, respectively, P < 0.001). In benign endometrial hyperplasia, highβ-catenin expression was noted in the cell membranes, whereas in EIN and endometrial adenocarcinoma highexpression was noted in the cytoplasm. In conclusion, EIN is more accurate than the WHO classification for thediagnosis of precancerous lesions of the endometrium.