Magnetic resonance imaging of adenoma malignum of the uterine cervix with pathologic correlation: a case report

Abstract

Adenoma malignum (AM) is considered a rare subtype of cervical adenocarcinoma. Although previous reports have described magnetic resonance findings, none of these reports evaluated the utility of diffusion-weighted imaging in the differential diagnosis of AM and other multicystic cervical lesions. We present a case report of an AM that did not show restriction on the apparent diffusion coefficient map, which can be explained by the low cellularity of the tumor. This is consistent with the proper correlation between the diffusion imaging and histopathology of the tumor. In this way, AM can present with high apparent diffusion coefficient values, as in benign cervical lesions. Therefore, the combination of a solid multicystic lesion that invades the cervical stroma on T2-weighted magnetic resonance images and the absence of restriction on the apparent diffusion coefficient map are very suggestive of AM.