A case of primary low grade adenocarcinoma of Bartholin's gland

Background: Because adenocarcinoma of Bartholin's gland is a rare vulval neoplasm, few reports exist on cytological findings for this carcinoma. We report a case of adenocarcinoma of Bartholin's gland with cytological and histoplatholigical findings. Case : A 49-year-old woman noticing swelling of the right vulva visited our hospital. A lesion about 5cm in diameter was found in the right vulva and resected. Cytologically, tumor cells were round to oval with scanty cytoplasm, and arranged sheetlike with loose cell-to-cell adhesion. The chromatin of the nuclei was fine, and nucleoli were prominent. Differential diagnosis included adenocarcinoma of skin adnexa, dysgerminoma, and metastatic carcinoma, but it was difficult to make a definitive diagnosis from cytological findings. The final diagnosis was poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma of Bartholin's gland based on tumor localization and histopathlogical findings. Conclusion: When adenocarcinoma cells are observed in vulval cytological examination, it is usually from carcinoma of skin adnexa or metastatic carcinoma. Adenocarcinoma of Bartholin's gland must be considered, however, as a possible diagnosis.