•  The neoplastic glands contain cellular debris.

•  The cells lining the glands vary in size and shape as do their nuclei.

•  In general the nuclei are very hyperchromatic.

•  Many cells are somewhat columnar.

• Associated with human papilloma virus infection, especially type 18.

• Account for up to 10% of carcinomas of the cervix

•integration into host genome of HPV with inactivation of p53

•area of active research

•sexually transmitted disease particularly affecting young women

•increased in cigarette smokers

•age peak at 40-45 but dropping

•women who have never had a pap smear or have not had one in 5 years

• often detected later than squamous carcinoma because location makes pap smear screening more difficult

• comparable outcome to squamous carcinoma stage for stage

•For more information about prognosis and treatment, consult the NCI web site.

Visit National Cancer Institute for Current Treatment

•may be fungating, may be ulcerated but often deeply infiltrative

•cut surfaces gray white, hard, poorly circumscribed

•necrosis and hemorrhage common

• composed of glands with cells containing mucin vacuoles

• nuclei are round to oval, hyperchromatic, and have prominent nucleoli

• Cotran RS, Kumar V, Robbins SL: Robbins Pathologic Basis of Disease. 5th ed. Philadelphia, W.B. Saunders, 1994, pp. 1053.

• Current literature from PubMed at National Library of Medicine