Basement membrane material and tigroid background in a fine needle aspirate of clear cell adenocarcinoma of the cervix : A case report

BACKGROUND: Although cytologic findings of clear cell adenocarcinoma of the female genital tract have been reported sporadically, the background on the smear has received little attention. CASE: A 16-year-old female had a large, necrotic mass in the cervix. As cervical brushing cytology and a punch biopsy of the mass could not make a definitive diagnosis, fine needle aspiration cytology was performed from the mass. The smears revealed loose, three-dimensional clusters and sheet arrangements of atypical cells. Dispersed atypical cells were also seen. The atypical cells were large and had abundant, weakly stained cytoplasm and round or oval nuclei with large nucleoli. There were a few tumor cells with clear cytoplasm and distinct cell borders in Papanicolaou-stained smears. The background in Diff-Quik-stained smears revealed a tigroid background and basement membrane material. CONCLUSION: The malignant tumor, revealing both a tigroid background and basement membrane material, seems to have been clear cell adenocarcinoma. Both features are diagnostic clues to clear cell adenocarcinoma in the female genital tract. Our case indicates that aspiration cytology is also an effective method of diagnosing a cervical tumor when the tumor is polypoid and the surface is extensively necrotic.