Villoglandular papillary adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix

Villoglandular papillary adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix was recently (1989) described by three main histological features: exophytic proliferation, papillary architecture and mild to moderate cellular atypicality. The authors report a case of villoglandular papillary adenocarcinoma, clinical stage IB, which was peculiar because of its association with a co-existing and simultaneously discovered invasive squamous cell carcinoma. These two patterns were juxtaposed and not intermingled. The patient was treated with radical hysterectomy followed by vaginal radiation therapy. She remains without evidence of recurrence after 12 months of follow-up. Five main clinicopathological features of the villoglandular papillary adenocarcinoma could be stressed: rare histological variant (72 described cases), young age of patients (25-45 years old), superficial stromal invasion, usual association with other tumoral patterns (in situ or invasive adenocarcinoma as well as in situ or invasive squamous cell carcinoma) and excellent prognosis. For selected Cases, a conservative surgical approach (cervical conization) was possible. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.