Carcinoid of the uterine cervix.Additional observations on a new tumor entity

Abstract

Twelve carcinoid tumors of the uterine cervix were studied. Based on the microscopic structure, they were divided into well-differentiated a n d poorly differentiated types. Both tumor varieties affected adult women. The clinical and gross features of these tumors were indistinguishable from those of invasive squamous cell carcinoma. Of the 12 patients, six died, four with poorly differentiated carcinoid and two with the well-differentiated type. Three patients are alive and symptom-free 9 months to 2 years after treatment; the remaining three were lost to follow-up. Microscopically, four well-differentiated carcinoids showed argyrophil cells, and ultrastructurally two had neurosecretory granules. One of the well-differentiated carcinoids resembled islet cell carcinoma and two had areas resembling medullary carcinoma of the thyroid. The poorly differentiated type of carcinoid had a histologic structure and a cell population very similar to that of the oat cell carcinoma of the lung. Of this group, four were argyrophilic, and by electron microscopy four contained pleomorphic secretory granules. It is considered that these tumors arise from the normal argyrophil cell of the cervix and are part of the group of neoplasms of the diffuse endocrine cell system (APUD).

Challenges in the diagnosis and management of cervical neuroendocrine carcinoma

“…Neuroendocrine carcinomas of the cervix have been classified into four distinct histologic types: small cell, large cell and carcinoid (typical and atypical) [4]. Primary cervical carcinoid tumor are exceedingly rare but typically behave more like welldifferentiated tumors and will not be addressed here.…”

“…One percent of all cervical cancer is of neuroendocrine histology, and there are approximately 100-200 cases diagnosed annually in the USA [4][5][6][7]. Given the rare nature of this disease, the vast majority of research investigating prognostic factors and optimal treatment is retrospective and based on relatively small case series.…”

Large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the uterine cervix with cytogenetic analysis by comparative genomic hybridization: a case study

“…In 1976, Albores-Saavedra et al [1] reported 12 cases of neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) arising in the uterine cervix and designated them as carcinoid tumors of the cervix. Thereafter, these tumors were further classified to 2 categories, small cell carcinoma and carcinoid tumor.…”

Differentiation of a Cell Line of Human Cervical Argyrophil Small Cell Carcinoma to Macrophage Lineage Cells

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] Because ASCC is a rare cervical tumor, accounting for only 1.5 to 5% of all cervical tumors, [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] most reports on ASCC have been concerned with one or a few cases. Therefore, development of in vivo and in vitro experimental systems is desirable not only for examining the biological behavior of ASCC, but also for establishing an effective clinical treatment.…”

“…[8][9][10] In our previous studies, we found that TC-YIK cells retained the histochemical characteristics of ASCC cells and could be used as an in vitro experimental model of ASCC, and that the TC-YIK cells were possibly of neuroendocrine origin, based on electron microscopic evidence of small, electron-dense, membrane-bound neurosecretory-type granules and immunohistochemical evidence of neuron-specific enolase, chromogranin, serotonin and gastrin. 8,9,11) In terms of the origin of ASCC, however, there have been three theories: ASCC originates from (i) amine precursor uptake and decarboxylation (APUD) cells, 2,3,12) (ii) undifferentiated epithelial cells with multi-differentiation ability, 13) or (iii) stem cells. 7) In this study, to investigate the origin of ASCC of the uterine cervix and the feasibility of treatment of the tumor with a differentiation inducer, we examined the influence of dibutyryl cyclic adenosine 3′,5′-monophosphate (dBcAMP), a known differentiation inducer, on the characteristics of an ASCC cell line, TC-YIK.…”