Adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix: a study of 37 cases

In a study of 37 patients diagnosed with cervical adenocarcinoma between 1961 and 1994, clinical and pathologic findings were evaluated. Of the 37 patients, 27 (73%) had a pure adenocarcinoma, five (13.5%) had a collision tumor and five (13.5%) had an adenosquamous carcinoma. Twenty-six patients (70.3%) were diagnosed in Stage I, and 11 (29.7%) patients in Stage II, III, and IV. Two patients (5.4%) were treated with simple hysterectomy alone, nine (24.3%) with simple hysterectomy followed by radiotherapy, eight (21.6%) with radical hysterectomy alone, five (13.5%) with radical hysterectomy followed by radiotherapy, nine (24.3%) with radiotherapy alone, one (2.7%) with radiotherapy followed by simple hysterectomy, and three (8.1%) received no treatment. The actuarial 5-year survival rate was 69%. It is suggested that for patients with small early-stage disease, radical hysterectomy should be primary treatment and postoperative adjuvant radiotherapy would be advocated if high-risk features are histologically demonstrated. For all other patients, radiotherapy should be primary treatment.