Atrophy

 

Atrophy is very common. The glands are small and look dark because the epithelium has very little cytoplasm. The nuclei may be hyperchromatic but they are very small and not atypical.

In sclerotic atrophy the glands are surrounded by a fibrotic stroma with chronic inflammation. These glands are often sharply angulated and the nuclei may be dark and peg-shaped. The sharp glands may look more infiltrating than some low-grade cancers. However, the glands are grouped together and the nuclei are small. A similar pattern may be seen in postatrophic hyperplasia (see below).