1984 Volume 23 Issue 3 Pages 448-454
Small cell carcinoma is a rare tumor in the uterine cervix. A 31 year-old Japanese woman complaining of yellow flow was diagnosed as stage IIb carcinoma of the uterine cervix. In spite of radical histerectomy accompanied by radiation and chemotherapy, the patient died ofrecurrence of tumor one and half years after the operarion. Histologically tumor was composed of small undifferentiated cells with oval hyperchromatic nuclei and scant cytoplasm. The nests of tumor cells were separated by thin fibro-vascular stroma. Pseudorosette formation was also seen. A few argyrophil tumor cells were identified by the Grimelius stain. By the ultrastructural study, neurosecretory-like granules measuring about 100 nm were also observed. Cytology of the tumor was identical with that of small cell carcinoma of the lung. The cytoplasm was scant in amount and poorly stained. The nuclear chromatin was coarsely granular and the nuclear rim was fairly thin. The nucleoli were hardly distinguished from prominent karyosomes.
This tumor underwent a grave clinical course like pulmonary small cell carcinoma. Though histological, histochemical and ultrastructural studies are necessary to diagnose small cell carcinoma, cytological attention to detect is lymphoma-like, small naked, hyperchromatic cell important for the early detection of such a highly and malignant tumor.
