Adenosquamous carcinoma of the conjunctiva: A case report

Adenosquamous carcinoma (ASC) is a rare form of malignancy which consists of two types of cell, including squamous cells and glandular-like cells. The current report presents the first known case of ASC in the conjunctiva and analyzes the histological findings. A 76-year-old female presented with right eyelid swelling in 2001. A right conjunctival tumor was noted and a biopsy was performed. Histologically, the tumor was diagnosed as a squamous cell carcinoma. The patient underwent radiotherapy, but the tumor rapidly relapsed. Subsequently, the patient underwent orbital exenteration. Histologically, the conjunctival tissues had been replaced with invasive tumor cells. A number of tumor cells demonstrated squamous differentiation with a keratinizing tendency, while other tumor cells exhibited mucin-producing activity with glandular formation. The conjunctival tumor was diagnosed as an ASC. At the time of writing, the patient is well without local recurrence or distant metastases. ASC typically exhibits aggressive biological behavior, and is associated with worse prognosis than conventional adenocarcinoma. Therefore, complete surgical excision is considered a key treatment for ASC of the conjunctiva.