1999 Volume 38 Issue 1 Pages 6-14
Objective: We studied the cytological findings of well differentiated adenocarcinoma to facilitate early detection of adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix in which the grade of the lesion is sometimes difficult to determine.
Study Design: The cytological findings were studied in early adenocarcinoma (EA) and adenoma malignum (AM). A morphometric study was also performed.
Result:(1), Coexistence of squamous cell abnormalities was detected in 75.0% of EA.(2) In EA, no tumor diathesis was found. The feathering of the nuclei were characteristically round with fine granular chromatin and middle-grade nucleoli.(3) In AM, mucous was observed in all cases. The cell cluster was arranged in a papillary or alveolar fashion, and an irregular arrangement of nuclei was observed. The nuclei were round to oval in shape, and nuclear enlargement was mild. Nuclear chromatin was fine granular or opaque and nucleoli were of middle grade.(4) Morphometric study disclosed that the nuclear contour index (NCI) of EA was lower than that of invasive adenocarcinoma and the NCI of AM was significantly lower than normal endocervical cells.
Conclusion: The present study suggested that it is possible to diagnose EA and AM when specimens are thoroughly observed for the background, cell cluster, and nuclear findings, in addition to performing image analyses of nuclei.
