Minimal Deviation Adenocarcinoma Research Articles

Comparison of Clinicopathological and Prognostic Characteristics Between Minimal Deviation Adenocarcinoma and Gastric-type Endocervical Adenocarcinoma.

Minimal deviation adenocarcinoma (MDA) is an extremely well-differentiated variant of gastric-type endocervical adenocarcinoma (GEA). This study compared the clinicopathological and prognostic characteristics of MDA to those of GEA. Nine MDAs and 22 GEAs were included in this study. We reviewed electronic medical records and pathology slides to collect clinicopathological and prognostic information. GEA showed significantly higher stage at presentation, more frequent parametrial extension and lymphovascular space invasion, and recurrence than MDA. Patients with GEA had significantly lower survival rates than those with MDA. None of the cases with MDA exhibited singly dispersed or clustered tumor cells, diffuse stromal desmoplasia, severe nuclear pleomorphism, loss of nuclear polarity, or coarse chromatin, all of which were frequently observed in GEA. Significant differences were observed in the clinicopathological characteristics and patient outcomes between MDA and GEA. Further investigations using a larger cohort are warranted to determine the clinical behavior and aggressiveness of MDA.

Disfunction of communication among immune cells in minimal-deviation adenocarcinoma of the cervix as an immunotherapeutic opportunity

Minimal deviation adenocarcinoma (MDA) of the uterine cervix, also referred to as malignant adenoma, is a rare subtype of cervical adenocarcinoma that exhibits histological characteristics resembling those of benign tumors, resulting in a low diagnostic rate and a lack of effective treatment options. The transcriptomic features of MDA at the single-cell resolution and within the tumor microenvironment (TME) remain unclear. In this study, we conducted single-cell transcriptomic analyses of MDA samples (Ca) and adjacent normal tissues (PCa). The present study reveals the prevalence of dendritic cells (DCs) and T cells in the carcinoma (Ca) of mammary ductal adenocarcinoma (MDA), with DCs undergoing significant metabolic reprogramming and immune stress. Additionally, our findings demonstrate the crucial involvement of DCs and T cells in the pathogenesis and metastatic progression of MDA, as evidenced by single-cell transcriptomic profiling of MDA and HPV samples. This resource provides a more profound understanding of the indolent nature of MDA and may prove useful in the development of MDA immunotherapy.

Crosscut and Covey-Tunnel Clusters-Uterine Cervix

Tunnel clusters of uterine cervix articulate as a subtype of nabothian cyst delineating spherical aggregates of twenty to fifty intensely adherent tubules. Characteristically, lesion demonstrates a complex configuration of endocervical glands with multicystic dilatation. Subcategorized as type A and type B variants, type A tunnel clusters are constituted of miniature, non cystic endocervical glands whereas type B tunnel clusters exemplify cystic dilatation of endocervical glands. Of obscure aetiology, tunnel clusters are posited to represent a sub-involution within foci of endocervical glandular hyperplasia. Tunnel clusters are asymptomatic or may be associated with mucoid vaginal discharge. Type A tunnel clusters are composed of miniature, elongated, non-cystic endocervical glands layered with columnar to low cuboidal epithelium with mucinous cytoplasm, apical vacuoles and basal nuclei. Type B tunnel clusters are comprised of cystically dilated endocervical glands layered with bland, cuboidal or flattened epithelium and permeated with inspissated mucin. Tunnel clusters appear immune reactive to PAX2 wherein type A tunnel clusters with gastric metaplasia appear immune reactive to HIK1083. Tunnel clusters of uterine cervix require segregation from neoplasms such as minimal deviation adenocarcinoma or adenoma malignum, conventional endocervical adenocarcinoma, adenocarcinoma in situ, nabothian cysts and mesonephric remnants or mesonephric hyperplasia of uterine cervix. Tunnel clusters may be appropriately discerned with cogent histological examination of surgical tissue specimens of uterine cervix, appear devoid of precise, applicable therapeutic strategies and do not necessitate alleviation.

The Token Transition-Minimal Deviation AdenocarcinomaUterine Cervix

Gastric type adenocarcinoma is a high grade, frequently discerned mucinous adenocarcinoma with gastric differentiation incriminating the endocervical canal. Of obscure aetiology, neoplasm depicts STK11 genetic mutations with chromosome 3q gain and chromosome 1p loss. Tumefaction exhibits cytological and histological features of gastric differentiation as tumour cells incorporated with voluminous, clear or pale, foamy, eosinophilic cytoplasm, tall, abundant, apical mucin, miniature, spherical, elliptical or enlarged, basal nuclei, irregular, vesicular chromatin and prominent nucleoli. The well differentiated neoplasm is comprised of well defined glandular articulations and minimal to absent stromal desmoplastic reaction. Neoplastic glands of variable outline, magnitude and irregular or claw-like glandular contour are observed. Tumour cells appear immune reactive to HIK1083, MUC6, p53, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) or mCEA, CK7, PAX8, CAIX or HNF-1B. Minimal deviation adenocarcinoma requires segregation from neoplasms such as human papillomavirus (HPV) associated endocervical adenocarcinoma, human papillomavirus (HPV) associated endocervical adenocarcinomas intestinal(goblet cell) type, clear cell adenocarcinoma, invasive stratified mucin producing adenocarcinoma, metastatic gastric or pancreaticobiliary carcinoma, lobular endocervical glandular hyperplasia, atypical lobular endocervical glandular hyperplasia, diffuse laminar endocervical glandular hyperplasia, tunnel clusters, florid deep glands, microglandular hyperplasia, pseudo-infiltrative tubal metaplasia, endocervicosis, endosalpingosis or endocervical type adenomyoma. Minimal deviation adenocarcinoma can be adequately categorized upon histological examination of tissue obtained with surgical sampling. Stage I tumours may be managed with surgical procedures as trachelectomy or radical hysterectomy and regional lymphadenectomy upon initial disease representation

Cervical Adenocarcinoma: A Still Under-investigated Malignancy.

The aim of the study was to correlate the expression of mismatch repairs proteins (MMR), programmed-death-ligand1 (PDL-1), and estro-progestinic receptors (ER/PgR) in tissue samples from a series of cervical adenocarcinoma (ADC) patients with their clinicopathological features. Thirty-nine ADC specimens were retrospectively retrieved from the Division of Pathology of the University Hospital of Pisa from 2015 to 2021. Histological subtype, grade (G), Silva pattern, presence of lymph vascular space invasion (LVI), and perineural invasion (PNI) were annotated. On representative samples, immunostaining for ER/PgR, MLH1, PMS2, MSH2, MSH6, and PDL-1(sp142) was performed. Thirty-five ADCs were HPV-associated usual type (24 invasive and 11 in situ), 2 were clear cell type, one was a minimal deviation adenocarcinoma (MDA), and one was an invasive stratified mucin-producing carcinoma (iSMC). ADC associated with LVI were mostly G2-3, whereas those associated also with PNI were G3 with Silva pattern C. No difference in the expression of ER/PgR was observed with a dichotomic age stratification (51 years) of patients. Only 6 ADCs were MMR-deficient, all of them were of the usual type (4 invasive and 2 in situ). The heterodimer MLH-1/PMS2 was the one most frequently altered (5/6), whereas only one case had MSH6 loss. None of ADCs express PDL-1, except iSMC which showed PDL-1 expression >1% in neoplastic cells. Both invasive and in situ usual type ADCs indicate MMR deficiency, highlighting how this could be an early event in tumorigenesis. None of the cases, except for iSMC, express PDL-1.

Biology and management of lobular endocervical glandular hyperplasia.

Lobular endocervical glandular hyperplasia (LEGH) is a multicystic proliferative disorder of the uterine cervix. The aim of this review was to clarify the current understanding of this unique tumor. This article reviews the chronological progress of research regarding clinico-pathological and genetic aspects of LEGH and related cervical cystic diseases such as Nabothian cyst and adenocarcinoma of gastric type (GAS), using the literature and data from our institute. We also describe clinical management including preoperative diagnosis and adequate surgical/expectant treatment based on the biological features. Recent studies revealed several unique aspects of LEGH, that is, (i) production of gastric mucin, (ii) symptomatic and histological similarity with minimal deviation adenocarcinoma (MDA), and (iii) frequent association with GAS, including MDA. These findings indicated that LEGH is a gastric metaplasia, as well as pre-cancerous neoplasia. For the preoperative diagnosis of LEGH, the combination of "cosmos" sign on magnetic resonance imaging, detection of gastric mucin, and lack of nuclear atypia on cytology is important. Cone biopsy is effective for pathological diagnosis. Simple hysterectomy is indicated as surgical treatment for LEGH; however, meticulous follow-up is also an option, especially for young patients, because the rate of malignant transformation was reported to be 1%-2%. For LEGH patients who selected follow-up, a worsening cytology and increase in lesion size were important signs of malignant change of LEGH for safe follow-up. Proper understanding of the characteristics of LEGH is important for adequate management.

Adenoma malignum of cervix – A case report

Adenoma malignum also called minimal deviation adenocarcinoma or minimal deviation carcinoma, is a rare disease. It is tricky to diagnose this condition because of its benign look. It forms a subtype of mucinous endocervical adenocarcinoma. Also, these lesions have an endophytic growth and are located deep in the cervix rather than an exophytic growth like any other adenocarcinoma of the cervix. Radiologically and clinically can resemble a benign, less harmful disease. However, it sometimes mimics multiple Nabothian cysts because of its benign look. In most cases, it had been an incidental finding when being evaluated for any other causes where hysterectomy was done. It usually presents between the age of 25-70 years and peaks at a median age of 42 years. Thus, this case report is an eye opener to keep Adenoma malignum is a close differential for watery discharge per vaginum. Although it is a rare tumour, it has an aggressive nature.

Minimal Deviation Adenocarcinoma of The Cervix: Still A Gynecologist Oncologist’s Nightmare

Minimal Deviation Adenocarcinoma of The Cervix: Still A Gynecologist Oncologist’s Nightmare

A RARE CASE OF MINIMAL DEVIATION ADENOCARCINOMA OF CERVIX – A CASE REPORT

Minimal deviation adenocarcinoma is a subtype of cervical adenocarcinoma and accounts for 1-3% of cervical adenocarcinoma . It is also known as adenoma malignum. We report a case of 55 year old postmenopausal women with complaints of low back pain, on examination cervix was replaced by indurated growth and was diagnosed as minimal deviation adenocarcinoma of cervix by biopsy

Clinicopathological features and outcomes in gastric-type of HPV-independent endocervical adenocarcinomas

BackgroundWe aimed to analyze the clinicopathological features and outcomes of patients with gastric-type of HPV-independent endocervical adenocarcinoma (GAS HPVI ECA), and compare them with non-GAS HPVI ECA cases.MethodsThirty-eight GASs [including 17 minimal deviation adenocarcinoma (MDA), 21 non-MDA GAS] and 17 non-GAS HPVI ECAs were studied. Data of clinical features, pathological characteristics, treatment, and outcomes were evaluated.ResultsThe median age of patients with GAS and non-GAS HPVI ECA was 46 and 48 years, respectively (p = 0.93). Compared with non-GAS HPVI ECAs, GAS had more common complains of vaginal watery discharge (p = 0.04). GAS cases were also associated with higher clinical stage (p = 0.036), more common in deeper cervical stromal invasion (p = 0.002) and lymphoavascular invasion (p = 0.044). GAS was associated with worse median progression-free survival (PFS) (p = 0.02) and median overall survival (OS) (p = 0.03) over patients with non-GAS HPVI ECAs. MDA had similar clinical and pathological features and prognosis compared with non-MDA GAS. Of note, serum CA19–9 levels were significantly higher in GAS than that in non-GAS HPVI ECA cases.ConclusionsGAS cases were more likely to have high risk pathological factors and poorer PFS and OS compared with non-GAS HPVI ECAs. Serum CA19–9 may be helpful for diagnosis and screening in patients with GAS.

Clinicopathological analysis of 6 cases of minimal deviation adenocarcinoma of cervix with 5 ovarian metastasis

目的： 探讨宫颈微偏腺癌（minimal deviation adenocarcinoma of cervix，MDA）伴卵巢转移临床病理特征。 方法： 收集四川省肿瘤医院2014年1月至2019年12月确诊MDA 6例伴卵巢转移5例，总结其临床病理特点及HER2表达状况，并结合文献复习。 结果： 6例患者年龄33~71岁，中位年龄51岁，首发症状多为阴道不规则流血/流液，宫颈病灶镜下示分化良好管状、分支状腺体在间质浸润性生长，免疫表型p16、雌激素受体（ER）、孕激素受体（PR）阴性（5/5）、p53突变型表达（5/5）以及细胞角蛋白（CK）7、碳酸酐酶Ⅸ（CAⅨ）阳性（5/5），黏液蛋白6（MUC6）多数阳性（4/5），CK20多数阴性（4/5）。5例MDA HER2免疫表型示：2例阴性，2例1+，1例2+，但染色2+者FISH检测示HER2无扩增。卵巢转移灶镜下示囊性/囊实性改变，被覆单层柱状上皮、形态温和，类似于卵巢黏液性囊腺瘤形态，免疫表型CK7、MUC6阳性（5/5），CAⅨ阳性（4/4）， p16阴性（5/5），p53突变型表达（5/5），CK20多为阴性（4/5）。 结论： MDA是一种分化极好且罕见的非HPV相关性腺癌，辅以相应免疫标记可有助于诊断；MDA转移至卵巢，形态良善，须与卵巢黏液性囊腺瘤鉴别。部分MDA显示HER2蛋白表达，是否具有靶向治疗价值，需扩大样本进一步研究。.

Newly recognized face of cervical cancer: Gastric type of Mucinous adenocarcinoma- A case report and brief literature review

Gastric type mucinous adenocarcinoma (GAS) is a mucinous type of endocervical adenocarcinoma described in WHO 2014. It is known for its aggressive nature, recurrence rate, distant metastasis and poor response to therapy. It is associated with minimal deviation adenocarcinoma (MDA) which belongs to the same spectrum of the disease. Hence it is very important to diagnose these rare tumors and differentiate it from usual endocervical and metastatic adenocarcinomas. We describe a case of Gastric type of mucinous adenocarcinoma, which is MUC6, mCEA positive and p16 negative.

Limited frequency of malignant change in lobular endocervical glandular hyperplasia

IntroductionAlthough lobular endocervical glandular hyperplasia is a benign disorder of the uterine cervix, its potential as a precursor of minimal deviation adenocarcinoma has been reported. However, the natural history of...

Discriminant analysis and interpretation of nuclear chromatin distribution and coarseness using gray-level co-occurrence matrix features for lobular endocervical glandular hyperplasia.

Lobular endocervical glandular hyperplasia (LEGH) is a disease considered to be the origin of tumorigenesis of minimal deviation adenocarcinoma, which has characteristic expression in the gastric pyloric mucosa. It is difficult to diagnose by nuclear findings because of lower nuclear atypia. In this study, nuclei of endocervical (EC) and LEGH cells were digitized, and nuclear information was quantified from nuclear images and objectively evaluated using a computer. We examined whether it is possible to distinguish between EC and LEGH cells, which is difficult by human eyes. Signal intensity, morphological features, Otsu thresholding technique and gray-level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) features were calculated from nuclei of EC and LEGH cells on cytology microscopic images. Then, discriminant analysis was performed using the significant difference test and linear support vector machine (LSVM). GLCM features in LEGH cells were higher than those in EC cells. The nuclei of LEGH cells had a higher frequency of signal value pairs with a larger signal value difference than that of EC cells. Therefore, LEGH cell nuclei are thought to have more chromatin granules, and the chromatin is coarse and granular. Moreover, in the LSVM discriminant analysis, the accuracy of GLCM calculated using these features was 85.4%. In this study, GLCM accurately demonstrated the nuclear chromatin distribution and coarseness. Discriminant analysis of EC and LEGH cells using GLCM features is useful.

Total Laparoscopic Hysterectomy for Diagnosis and Treatment of Cervical Cystic Lesions: A Case Series

Objective: Cervical cystic lesions are often observed in gynecological clinical practice. Many are caused by benign diseases such as lobular endocervical glandular hyperplasia (LEGH), and it is important to differentiate these lesions from those due to malignant diseases such as minimal deviation adenocarcinoma (MDA). In cases in which fertility preservation is not a concern, the final pathology is often confirmed by hysterectomy. To investigate the feasibility and safety of laparoscopic surgery for cervical cystic lesions, we retrospectively examined cases in which total laparoscopic hysterectomy (TLH) was performed for diagnosis and treatment. Methods: The subjects were 28 women who underwent TLH from April 2012 to March 2017 at Keio University Hospital. The pre- and post-operative courses of these patients were examined. Results: The average age was 49.4 (range 39 - 65) years and the mean body mass index was 21.7 (16.8 - 30.5) kg/m2. The average operation time was 159 (101 - 314) min and the average bleeding volume was 106.8 (0 - 600) g. There were no severe perioperative complications. The average hospital stay was 8.4 (7 - 14) days. In postoperative pathological diagnosis, 13 cases had benign diseases such as Nabot cysts, there were 14 cases of LEGH, and one patient was diagnosed with MDA. In the MDA case, additional bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy and pelvic lymph node dissection were performed at a later date. No metastasis was observed in these excised specimens. Conclusions: Our results suggest that TLH for cervical cystic lesions can be performed safely. However, it is important to consider the TLH indication before surgery based on the possibility of malignant disease.

Gastric-type mucinous carcinoma of the cervix and its precursors - historical overview.

The emerging concept of gastric-type mucinous carcinoma (GAS) of the uterine cervix has been accepted worldwide because of its aggressive clinical behaviour and the absence of high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV). GAS is included as a variant of mucinous carcinoma in the 2014 World Health Organization classification, and its recognition has provoked a discussion on endocervical adenocarcinoma as a single entity such that endocervical adenocarcinoma is now divided into HPV-associated and HPV-independent groups. This article reviews historical and conceptual aspects of GAS and its precursors, starting with minimal deviation adenocarcinoma (MDA), through the ensuing confusion, up to the recent paradigm shift in cervical adenocarcinoma subclassification. The gastric immunophenotype of MDA was demonstrated by a Japanese group in 1998 using the HIK1083 antibody, which recognises gastric pyloric gland mucin, and this elucidated the pathogenesis of this particular tumour. However, this information resulted in overdiagnosis of lobular endocervical glandular hyperplasia (LEGH), first described in 1999 and which represents pyloric gland metaplasia (PGM), as malignant. In the early 2000s the relationship between MDA and LEGH/PGM became a matter of controversy. In 2007 HIK1083 immunohistochemistry extended the morphological spectrum of endocervical adenocarcinoma showing gastric differentiation beyond MDA, which resulted in the proposal of GAS as a distinct entity including MDA as its very well-differentiated subtype. GAS is now considered to be an aggressive and chemoresistant neoplasm that is not related to high-risk HPV. The LEGH/PGM-GAS sequence is currently regarded as an HPV-independent pathway of carcinogenesis. Understanding the underlying molecular events in this process is key to the development of biomarkers for early detection and molecular targeted therapy.

MRI findings of minimal deviation adenocarcinoma of cervix

Objective: To investigate the characteristics of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of minimal deviation adenocarcinoma (MDA) of cervix, and improve the diagnostic accuracy of MDA. Methods: The imaging data of eight cases of MDA was retrospectively collected, including tumor size, tumor location, tumor components, signal characteristics, enhancement characteristics and invasive extent. Results: The maximum diameter of tumor was (4.36±1.46) cm. Six tumors were mixed solid and cystic and two were predominantly solid. Six were diffusion limited on diffusion-weighted imaging, and two were not diffusion limited. On multi-phase dynamic contrast-enhanced scan, the enhancement curve of solid components of the tumor showed a plateau-like pattern in three cases and a slow-rising pattern in five cases. Tumors were confined to the cervical canal in three cases, infiltrated to cervical stroma > 1/2 depth in seven cases, and ≤ 1/2 depth in one case. There were four cases of uterine invasion, four cases of vaginal fornix invasion, four cases of bilateral ovarian metastasis and one case of lymph node metastasis. Conclusions: Patients suffering from large amount of vaginal discharge had cervical lesions on MRI showing polycystic and solid component enhancement should be alert to MDA. Deep-seated cervical biopsy and even conization is conducive to early diagnosis, treatment and improvement of prognosis.

Whole-exome sequencing of lobular endocervical glandular hyperplasia.

Lobular endocervical glandular hyperplasia (LEGH) was first reported as a benign proliferative disorder of the uterine cervix. However, it currently remains unclear whether it has the biological characteristics of pyloric metaplasia or precursor of minimal deviation adenocarcinoma (MDA)/gastric-type mucinous cervical adenocarcinoma (GAS). Therefore, in the present study we performed whole-exome sequencing on three cases of LEGH collected by laser-microdissection from the frozen tissue sections of surgically removed uteri. Analysis of the results identified 50 somatic variants. After several filtering processes, we identified 13 functional variants, including 12 missense and one insertion-deletion variants. Of these mutations, keratinocyte proline-rich protein, olfactory receptor M4 and zinc finger protein 645 mutations were found in the Catalogue Of Somatic Mutations In Cancer but were not related to carcinogenic diseases. We did not detect any significant copy number alterations or signatures. Although this was a limited case series, we did not identify any variants relevant to the tumorigenesis of LEGH to MDA/GAS, suggesting a metaplastic aspect of LEGH.

Prevalence and attribution of high-risk HPV in different histological types of cervical cancer

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of high-risk HPV subtypes in different pathological types of cervical cancer, and analyze the attribution of carcinogenic HPV subtypes in different pathological types. Methods: A total of 1 541 patients with cervical cancer were treated between February 2009 and October 2016 in Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College. The median age at diagnosis was 49 years (ranged 20-82 years old). The numbers of patients with cervical cancer from North China, Northeast China, East China, Central China and other regions (including Northwest, Southwest and South China) were 961, 244, 175, 87 and 74 cases, respectively. Pathological types: 1 337 cases of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), 87 usual adenocarcinoma (ADC), 23 adenosquamous carcinoma (ASC), 20 mucinous carcinoma (MC), 19 clear cell carcinoma (CCC), 12 endometrioid carcinoma (EC), 25 neuroendocrine carcinoma (NEC), 9 serous carcinoma (SC), 5 villous adenocarcinoma (VADC) and 4 minimal deviation adenocarcinoma (MDAC). The prevalence of high-risk HPV in different regions, age groups at diagnosis and pathological types in cervical cancer were analyzed. The attribution of 13 high-risk HPV subtypes in different pathological types of cervical cancer based on proportional attribution method, and the attribution of high-risk HPV subtypes prevented by 9-valent HPV vaccine in SCC and ADC were calculated. Results: (1) The prevalence of high-risk HPV in 1 541 patients with cervical cancer was 86.6% (1 335/1 541). The multiple high-risk HPV infection rate in patients with SCC ≥60 years old (23.0%, 37/161) was significantly higher than those in patients aged 45-59 years old and ≤44 years old [11.4% (85/747) vs 11.7% (50/429), P<0.01], and the high-risk HPV infection rates of patients with cervical cancer in North China, Northeast China, East China, Central China and other regions were respectively 86.8% (834/961), 87.7% (214/244), 83.4% (146/175), 83.9% (73/87) and 91.9% (68/74). SCC (86.8%, 1 337/1 541) and ADC (5.6%, 87/1 541) were the most common pathological types in cervical cancer. The high-risk HPV prevalence of SCC, ADC, ASC, MC, NEC and VADC were 90.1% (1 205/1 337), 74.7% (65/87), 87.0% (20/23), 65.0% (13/20), 72.0% (18/25) and 5/5 respectively. The high-risk HPV infection rates of SC, EC, CCC and MDAC were 4/9, 3/12, 2/19 and 0/4 respectively. (2) According to proportional attribution, HPV 16 (69.5%), HPV 18 (5.6%), HPV 58 (2.2%), HPV 31 (1.9%), HPV 52 (1.4%) and HPV 33 (1.3%) were the six common high-risk HPV subtypes in SCC. While, HPV 18 (44.1%), HPV 16 (20.5%), HPV 52 (2.3%), HPV 58 (1.2%) and HPV 51 (1.2%) were the main carcinogenic subtypes in ADC. The main carcinogenic high-risk HPV subtypes of ASC, NEC and MC were HPV 18 and HPV 16. The total attribution of HPV 16, 18, 31, 33, 45, 52 and 58 prevented by 9-valent HPV vaccine in SCC and ADC were 82.6% and 68.1% respectively; the attribution of HPV 45 in SCC and ADC were only 0.8% and 0. Conclusions: SCC and ADC are the main pathological types in cervical cancer. SCC, ADC, ASC, MC, NEC and VADC are closely related to high-risk HPV infection. HPV 16 is the main carcinogenic genotypes of SCC. HPV 18 maybe play an important role in the pathogenesis of ADC.

Morphologic Features of Gastric-type Cervical Adenocarcinoma in Small Surgical and Cytology Specimens

Gastric-type cervical adenocarcinoma (GCA) is a human papillomavirus-unassociated, aggressive, chemorefractory tumor. Well-differentiated examples may exhibit bland morphologic appearances, which could potentially lead to misdiagnosis, particularly in limited material. We sought to characterize the morphologic features of GCA in surgical biopsy and cytology specimens. We identified patients with histologic diagnoses of GCA or minimal-deviation adenocarcinoma between 2004 and 2017. Available slides from biopsy, curettage, and cytology specimens were reviewed. Fifty-nine specimens (37 histology, 22 cytology) were reviewed from 23 patients, including histology specimens alone from 6 patients, cytology specimens alone from 4 patients, and both types of specimen from 13 patients. The median patient age was 52 yr (range, 29-83 yr). Biopsies showed well-to-moderately differentiated adenocarcinomas composed of cells with pale or foamy cytoplasm and well-defined cytoplasmic borders. Nuclei exhibited mild-to-moderate pleomorphism with small nucleoli. The diagnosis was challenging in a minority of biopsies in which neoplastic glandular epithelium was scant, fragmented, and/or well differentiated. Cytology slides showed single and crowded clusters of tumor cells with pale, foamy, and/or vacuolated cytoplasm and well-defined cytoplasmic borders. Nuclei were moderately pleomorphic, round to oval with one or more nucleoli. Of 20 submitted biopsies, GCA was suspected by the submitting pathologist in only 5 (25%) cases. Awareness of the morphologic features and use of confirmatory ancillary studies (eg, immunohistochemistry for markers of gastric differentiation and human papillomavirus testing) will allow accurate diagnosis of these aggressive tumors in biopsy and cytology specimens.