1995 Volume 34 Issue 4 Pages 651-656
Adenoid basal carcinoma (ABC) of the uterine cervix is an extremely rare disease and only 20 cases have previously been reported in English. We present the first Japanese case of ABC, occurring in a 60-year-old female who underwent a modified radical hysterectomy with a tentaive diagnosis of early-invasive epidermoid carcinoma. Cytologic smear results of the cervix are summarized as follows; 1) dense cellular aggregates and rather flat cellular sheets composed of small, basaloid cells with oval to elongated nuclei, dense chromatin, and inconspicuous nucleoli were present. 2) glandular structures were sometimes seen in cellular aggregates. 3) atypical intraepithelial squamous components were present in the background. Histologically, ABC is characterized by small nests and cords of uniform round or oval small cells, with scant cytoplasm and small dark nuclei. There are some foci with squamous differentiation, pseudoglandular structures, usually seen in adenoid cystic carcinoma, intraepithelial atypical squamous components and little stromal reaction. In view of its excellent prognosis, ABC should be distinguished from squamous cell carcinoma with basaloid features, small cell carcinoma, adenoid cystic carcinoma and adenosquamous carcinoma.
