1997 Volume 36 Issue 2 Pages 228-232
A vulvar adenoid basal cell carcinoma was diagnosed by smear from an ulcerous lesion of a right vulvar tumor, with confirmation on a subsequent surgical specimen. This rare tumor of the vulva should be considered in patients showing vulvar swelling, ulcers, bleeding and tumors. Cytologic examination is sufficient for accurate diagnosis of this tumor using the criteria mentioned below:
(1) small, uniform, spindle or cuboidal cells with round or oval nuclei and scanty basophilic cytoplasm,
(2) high N/C ratio,
(3) evenly dispersed, finely granular chromatin,
(4) nucleoli are not prominent, and mitosis is rare,
(5) the cluster is solid and packed densely, and has some fragments with distinct, sharp borders,
(6) palisade of the peripheral cell layer, and
(7) presence of a gland-like formation which looks like a “punched out” pseudo-gland and includes a mucin-like substance.
