Carcinoid tumor (argyrophil cell carcinoma) in the uterine cervix

with special reference to cytologic figures

Abstract

The present communication describes cytologic and histologic features of a carcinoid tumor (argyrophil cell carcinoma) in the uterine cervix, a rare condition in the female genital tract. A 49-year-old Japanese woman complaing of abnormal genital bleeding was diagnosed as in stage 2a carcinoma of the uterine cervix. In spite of the extended hysterectomy with pelvic lymph node dissection, the patient died from pelvic recurrence and systemic metastasis, which resisted against X-irradiation and chemotherapy. The tumor was composed of undifferentiated or poorly differentiated cells with round nuclei and scanty cytoplasms the cell were arranged compactly in major portions of the tumor but in trabecular pattern in some portions. A fairly large number of neoplastic cells showed argyrophilia by the Grimelius stain, and cytoplasmic neurosecretory-type glanules were found in the cytoplasm by electron microphotographs. The cytological findings as follows: Exfoliated tumor cells with round or oval nuclei of minimum polymorphism were either separated from each other or arranged in a loose clusters. The cytoplasm was scanty, and there were a fair numbers of naked nuclei. The nuclear chromatin was moderately increased and showed coarsely granular pattern. The nucleoli were not so prominent.
Unlike carcinoid tumors of digestive organs, the tumor in the uterine cervix was proven malignant in its clinical course, because of this, cytological and histochemical screening of undifferentiated carcinoma of the cervix has been highly recommended to find out this variety of malignant lesion.