Mucin production in defining mixed carcinoma of the uterine cervix: a clinicopathologic study

Eighty-seven Stage 1 cervical carcinomas treated by radical hysterectomy between 1970 and 1979 were reviewed for histologic type, outcome, and factors predicting behavior. Initially, the cases were histologically classified by the Wentz and Reagan system and graded according to the Broders method. Stains for intracellular mucin were then examined in 69 cases and 39% were shown to contain intracellular mucin. Using intracellular mucin as an indicator of mixed carcinoma, this study showed a distribution of 35% keratinizing, 16% nonkeratinizing, 3% small cell, 16% adeno-, 3% undifferentiated, and 26% mixed carcinoma. The mixed carcinomas were derived from the traditional keratinizing, nonkeratinizing and small cell categories. Mixed carcinoma was the only histologic type that predicted lymph node metastasis (p = 0.009). The presence of lymph node metastasis predicted death due to disease or recurrence (p = 0.014) as did pure adenocarcinoma histology (p = 0.025). Overall 5 year survival was 92%. Survival at 5 years for adenocarcinoma was 85%, but one additional death occurred at 12 years and a first recurrence occurred at 7 years. An additional patient with a collision tumor (adenocarcinoma and squamous carcinoma) died at 8 years. Mixed carcinoma is relatively common and appears to be associated with a higher incidence of lymph node metastasis. Adenocarcinoma appears to have a poorer prognosis and a tendency for late recurrence in distant sites.