In histopathology, a small-blue-round-cell tumour (abbreviated SBRCT), also known as a small-round-blue-cell tumor (SRBCT) or a small-round-cell tumor (SRCT), is any one of a group of malignant neoplasms that have a characteristic appearance under the microscope, i.e. consisting of small round cells that stain blue on routine H&E stained sections.
These tumors are seen more often in children than in adults. They typically represent undifferentiated cells. The predominance of blue staining is because the cells consist predominantly of nucleus, thus they have scant cytoplasm. __TOC__
Examples Tumors that belong to this group are: Desmoplastic small-round-cell tumour Ewing sarcoma/PNET Neuroblastoma Medulloblastoma Rhabdomyosarcoma Synovial sarcoma Carcinoid tumor Mesothelioma Small cell lung cancer Wilms' tumour Retinoblastoma Small-cell lymphoma Hepatoblastoma- only the anaplastic form has round blue cells, the more common fetal and embryonal types do not Gray W, Kocjan G. Diagnostic Cytopathology; . p.307 Merkel cell carcinoma Mesenchymal chondrosarcoma
Conditions mimicking SBRCT
Endometrial stromal condensation may mimic a small-blue-round-cell tumour.
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