• The Korean Journal of Cytopathology
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.147-153
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• 1998

We have investigated the cervicovaginal smears in order to define the cytologic features of uterine adenocarcinomas. Total 22 cases were reviewed(12 cases from the Sanggye Paik hospital, Inje university and 10 cases from the Korea Cancer Center Hospital) from January 1992 to December 1997. Five cases were endometrial adenocarcinomas and the remaining 17 cases were cervical adenocarcinomas. Seventeen cases of cervical adenocarcinomas were divided into endometrioid(6 cases), endocervical(7 cases), mixed endometrioid and endocervical(1 case), papillary (2 cases), and adenosquamous(1 case) carcinomas. The background of endocervical adenocarcinoma was hemorrhagic or inflammatory. The tumor diathesis was less prominent than that of the squamous cell carcinoma. The prominent features of the endocervical type adenocarcinomas were large and loose clusters, large intracytoplasmic vacuoles, and prominent overlapping and peripheral palisading of nuclei. In contrast, the endometrioid adenocarcinomas showed small and compact clusters, and small intracytoplasmic vacuoles. The detection rate of endometrial adenocarcinoma was lower than that of the endocervical adenocarcinoma.