No abstract

Thirty cases of early stage adenocarcinoma, 5 mm or less in depth, were selected from 1942 primary carcinomas of the uterine cervix for histologic analysis to clarify their histogenesis. There were 16 carcinomas of endocervical type, 12 of endometrioid type, and 2 clear cell carcinomas. There were 22 early invasive adenocarcinomas and 8 adenocarcinomas in situ. In 27 cases the carcinoma was adjacent to the transformation zone and in 3 it was separate from it. In 10 cases adenocarcinoma coexisted with in situ squamous cell carcinoma. Only one patient whose tumor was 3 mm in depth developed a pelvic recurrence after radical hysterectomy. All other patients remained disease‐free after treatment by hysterectomy. It is suggested that most adenocarcinomas of the uterine cervix originate from endocervical glands adjoining the transformation zone and that they may develop directly from normal‐appearing epithelium without passing through adenomatous or dysplastic changes.

Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) on chromosome 16q was examined in DNA isolated from 11 intraductal papillomas and 12 intracystic papillary adenocarcinomas of the breast. Such LOH was detected in 8 (67%) out of 12 intracystic papillary adenocarcinomas, and in 7 (64%) of 11 of these adenocarcinomas of low grade atypia (Grade 1), whereas it was not detected in 11 intraductal papillomas. Therefore, inactivation of tumor‐suppressor genes on chromosome 16q was suggested to be involved in acquisition of malignant phenotype rather than in tumorigenesis in mammary gland epithelial cell. Examination of LOH on I6q should he helpful for differential diagnosis of intracystic papillary tumors.

Twenty-three cases of bronchial gland cell (BGC) type lung adenocarcinoma were examined clinicopathologically and immunohistochemically. BGC type adenocarcinoma was defined as adenocarcinoma showing histologic and cytologic differentiation toward the bronchial gland. This type of adenocarcinoma occurred more frequently in younger patients (mean age, 50.5 years) than in patients with other types of adenocarcinoma (mean age, 60.1 years). It had a tendency to arise from relatively large bronchi and show endobronchial growth. However, there was no difference in disease stage based on tumor, nodal involvement, metastases (TNM) factors and outcome between BGC type adenocarcinoma and peripheral type adenocarcinoma. Immunohistochemically, 50%, 68%, and 64% of BGC type adenocarcinomas were positive for carcinoembryonic antigen, surfactant apoprotein, and secretory component, respectively. Peripheral type adenocarcinomas showed similar rates of immunohistochemical stainability of these antigens. The positive reaction of BGC type adenocarcinomas with anti-surfactant apoprotein antibody may indicate maintenance of traces of differentiation toward peripheral airway epithelium. Lactoferrin is characteristically detected in BGC type adenocarcinomas, although the positive rate was not very high.