Glassy cell carcinoma of the cervix

Of the 389 cases of primary adenocarcinoma of the cervix in the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology files, only 9 (2%) demonstrated features of glassy cell carcinoma in one third or more of the tumor. Histologically, glassy cell carcinomas were associated with admixed areas of mucinous adenocarcinoma in 5 instances, and 4 of the 9 neoplasms contained glandular differentiation by glassy cells. Squamous differentiation occurred in 4 of the 9 cases, and intracellular mucin was present in 7 of the 8 glassy cell carcinomas stained for it. Even in the single example without demonstrable mucin production gland formation by the tumor cells was evident. Although the cells have a characteristic appearance, it is unclear if glassy cell carcinoma is a meaningful entity. The need for its separate designation in the classification of cervical carcinoma is questionable. If glassy cell carcinoma exists, examples probably will be found within categories of nonkeratinizing large cell carcinoma and undifferentiated carcinoma.