A cytologic study of early cervical adenocarcinomas and related lesions

In order to clarify the cytologic findings in early cervical adenocarcinomas and related lesions, 12 cases of glandular dysplasia (GD), 14 of adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS), 16 of microinvasive adenocarcinoma with AIS, and 9 of invasive adenocarcinoma (invasion < 3mm) were studied using preoperative cytologic smears. 1) In the GD smears, abundant cervical columnar epithelium, palisade like arrangements and acinar formations, and fine slightly increased nuclear chromatin were charactaristic. 2) In the AIS smears, aggregated atypical glandular cells, rosettes, enlarged nuclei with protrusions from the cytoplasm, and moderately increased granular nuclear chromatin were characteristic. 3) In the smears of microinvasive adenocarcinoma, feathering, increased nuclear chromatin, irregular thickening of the nuclear border, frequent mitoses, anisonuclei and irregular nuclei were characteristic. 4) In the smears of invasive adenocarcinoma, tumor diathesis, grape or papillary formations, and prominent nuclear atypia with coarse nuclear chromatin were characteristic. Care must be taken to diagnose the smears of these cervical glandular lesons, as the cytologic findings might differ according to their histologic types and differentiation.