Adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix

In Finland, the incidence of cervical cancer has shown a decreasing tendency since the 1960s. The same trend, however, has not been noticed in the incidence of cervical adenocarcinoma. The reason for this is not known, although many studies have shown differences in the cause, epidemiology, and biology of the epidermoid and adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix. A total of 106 new patients with cervical adenocarcinoma were treated at our institution from 1976 to 1980, which represents 20.4% of all cervical carcinomas treated. The mean age of the patients was 58.1 years (range, 29 to 82 years) and the peak incidence was in the group 60 to 69 years of age. Most of the patients were postmenopausal (71.7%) and the main symptom was abnormal vaginal bleeding (78.3%). The proportion of Stage I was 61.3%. Combined operative and radiation therapy was used in 74.5% of the patients. The overall 5-year survival rate was 65.1% (corrected 74.5%), which did not differ from that of patients with squamous cell carcinoma. The most significant prognostic factors were the size of the tumor, presence of pelvic lymph node metastases, and the stage of the disease.