A fatal case of stilboestrol associated clear cell adenocarcinoma of the vagina

Summary In the United States of America, over 400 cases of clear cell adenocarcinoma of cervix and vagina have been reported (Herbst, 1981), two-thirds of these having a documented association with prenatal exposure to stilboestrol. The first description of a stilboestrol associated neo-plasma of this type from the United Kingdom was in 1978 and it was then estimated that there were a further 10 latent cases in Great Britain (Monaghan and Sirisena, 1978); two of these have since become overt (Dewhurst et al., 1980; Davis et al., 1981) and we record here a third in which there were several unusual features and which proved to be the first reported fatality from this type of neoplasm in Britain.