Abstract
Objective: Clear cell adenocarcinoma (CCA) of the uterine body is relatively rare, but appropriate diagnosis is required because of its unfavorable prognosis. The purpose of this study was to describe the cytological features of CCA on endometrial smears, focusing on comparison of endometrioid adenocarcinomas of the uterine body and ovarian CCA.
Study Design: The following cytological variables were assessed in the endometrial smears of six cases of endometrial CCA that were encountered between 2000 and 2006,: large or small papillary clusters, sheet-like clusters, overlapping cell clusters, scattered bare nucleis, and the mirror-ball pattern.
Results: The detection frequencies of the aforementioned variables were as follows: large papillary clusters, 11.4%; small papillary clusters, 41.8%; sheet-like clusters, 38.0%; overlapping cell clusters, 8.9%; scattered bare nucleis, 100%. There were no cases showing the mirror-ball pattern, although a collagen stroma was occasionally observed.
Conclusions: The following features must be examined for carefully in the cytological diagnosis of endometrial CCA: small papillary clusters, sheet-like clusters, and scattered bare nucleis.
