A Papillary Mixed Tumor of the Body of the Uterus

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Mixed tumors of the uterus vary markedly in structure, and for that reason some confusion has arisen in the terms used in discussing these growths. Theoretically any tumor of the uterus containing at least one mesoblastic tissue foreign to those of the uterus belongs in this group. On the basis of such reasoning, lipomas, osteochondromas, and composite growths of carcinoma and sarcoma as reported by Jarfe (6), Schiffmann (15), and others, would be included. There seems to be no concise definition of the group. Perlstein (10), Ritter (13), and Gamper (3) discuss these growths as mixed mesodermal or mesenchymal tumors of the uterus. They include the occasional tumors with epithelium but exclude those that are benign. Halter (5) spoke of heterotopic mixed tumors, irrespective of embryonal origin or structural characteristics, while Jones (7) and Cox and Benischek (1) chose the descriptive term, “sarcoma botryoides.” Others designate the tumors as rhabdomyosarcoma and chondromyxosarcoma. In none of the reports has much consideration been given to the mono-, bi-or tridermal composition of these bizarre tumors—factors concerned with origin—or has the dearth of epithelial derivatives been especially emphasized. There is such a wide variety of mixed tumors, each individually different, that it is possible here to indicate only their more important features. Tumors of the uterus commonly referred to as “mixed” are of more complex structure and usually contain sarcoma-like tissues. Petersen (11) collected thirty fatty tumors of the uterus, but these generally are not considered complex enough to be included in the mixed group; they are seldom malignant and only occasionally contain striated muscle, cartilage, or embryonic myxomatous tissue. Other simple mesoblastic tissues, as the angiomas, and the more complex teratomas are excluded, as are the atypical growths of the cervix described by Geller (4), which contain only modified epithelium.