The histogenesis of mixed cervical carcinomas. The concept of endocervical columnar-cell dysplasia.

In a case of cervical adenocarcinoma in situ, accompanied by relatively minor squamous-cell dysplasia, the neoplastic glandular cells were associated with "abnormal" but not clearly cancerous surface cells of the endocervix. Measurements of the nuclear DNA of these cells revealed an aneuploid pattern similar to that of epidermoid dysplasias. It is suggested that endocervical dysplasia is a valid entity and represents a step in the evolution of cervical adenocarcinoma from reserve cells comparable to the position of epidermoid dysplasia in the genesis of epidermoid carcinoma.