Cytologic characteristics of adenoid cystic carcinoma of the cervix uteri--case report.

Adenoid cystic carcinoma is a rare malignancy, usually found in the salivary glands, although this unusual tumor can be found at other sites of the body. In particular, regarding adenoid cystic carcinoma of the cervix (ACCC) most frequently reports are given for postmenopausal women. In this respect, our work is one among very few in the literature that considers a cytologic picture of this uncommon cervix carcinoma. The case of 74 year old patient with postmenopausal bleeding is described. Both Pap smear and air dried smear of the uterine cervix were analyzed. The cytologic findings revealed very few small clusters of abnormal glandular cells, as well as some amorphous eosinophilic globule-like material, with granulomatous and necrotic background. The latter includes a lot of histiocytes, multinucleated giant cells, large aggregates of epitheloid cells and lymphocytes. Histology revealed the diagnosis of ACCC. We emphasize the importance of careful screening of Pap smear that might be crucial in the case of suspicious clinical findings in postmenopausal women, when the possibility of ACCC has to be considered.