The pathologic spectrum of small cell carcinoma of the cervix

Small cell carcinoma of the cervix is a term used to describe several entities including cervical carcinoid, "oat cell" carcinoma, reserve cell carcinoma, and poorly differentiated nonkeratinizing squamous cell carcinoma. The light microscopic, ultrastructural, and clinical features of seven small cell cervical carcinomas are presented in this report. Five tumors in our report were diagnosed as small cell anaplastic or oat cell carcinoma by light microscopy. This diagnosis was associated with a poor prognosis, and four of these patients were dead of disease within 24 months. The ultrastructural features of these tumors were similar, but neurosecretory granules were demonstrable in only three of the five cases. Evidence of glandular differentiation was present in one of the five cases, and dual differentiation, i.e., neuroendocrine and squamous, was noted in another. The similarities between pulmonary small cell carcinoma and these cervical lesions are discussed and the literature is reviewed. Also included in the study is a well-differentiated neuroendocrine lesion, a carcinoid that behaved in an aggressive fashion. The final case was a carcinoma putatively derived from reserve cells. The features that help make the diagnosis of reserve cell carcinoma and that distinguish this lesion from other small cell carcinomas are presented.