Glassy cell adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix

Objective: Glassy cell carcinoma of the cervix is a rare variant of cervical cancer accounting for a small percentage of cell types. This study was undertaken to review our experience with glassy cell adenocarcinoma. Study design: Review of adenocarcinomas from the period 1970 to 1985 was undertaken. Pathology review and survival analysis was performed comparing the glassy cell adenocarcinomas with other adenocarcinoma cell types. Results: Twenty-one patients with glassy cell adenocarcinoma were identified. The mean age was 44 years. The stage distribution showed stage I = 10, stage II = 8, stage III = 1, and stage IV = 2. The cumulative survival according to stage was stage I = 50%, stage II = 36%, stage III = 0%, and stage IV = 0%. A separate analysis was performed for stage I comparing glassy cell carcinoma with other stage I adenocarcinoma cell types. The survival for stage I nonglassy cell adenocarcinoma was 61% compared with glassy cell adenocarcinoma 48% (n = 10) (P = .5). A separate subset for adenosquamous carcinoma alone was performed. The survival for stage I adenosquamous carcinoma (n = 30) was 58%. The survival for adenosquamous glassy cell (n = 5) was 30% (P = .45). Conclusion: Glassy cell adenocarcinoma is a small subset of adenocarcinoma. When compared with other adenocarcinomas, survival is not significantly decreased. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.