Discordant Pathological and Endoscopic Diagnosis: Consider Floaters

Abstract

A tissue floater or extraneous cross-contamination tissue on a microscopic slide is rare; however, it is a potential cause of diagnostic error. Occasionally, on collecting and processing of specimens, cross-contamination of tissue occurs leading to pathologic findings that are inconsistent with endoscopic findings. If the extraneous tissue is neoplastic, it can lead to a false-positive diagnosis. We present a case of discordant pathological and endoscopic diagnosis of invasive squamous carcinoma of the esophagus.