Endometrial adenocarcinoma with squamdus cell differentiation

In a histopathologic review of all cases of endometrial carcinoma diagnosed in Norway between 1970 and 1978, 255 cases of adenocarcinoma with squamous cell differentiation were found among the 1985 cases reviewed. One hundred eighty-one (9.1%) were adenoacanthoma and 74 (3.7%) adenosquamous carcinoma. The mean age for patients with adenoacanthoma was 57.7 years (range, 32 to 85 years) and for adenosquamous carcinoma, 62.8 years (range, 43 to 84 years). Five-year and 10-year survival rates for all patients were 83.5% and 71.8%, respectively. For patients with adenosquamous carcinoma, corresponding figures were 64.9% and 52.7%, and for those with adenoacanthoma, the figures were 91.2% and 79.6%, respectively. When stratified for grade and depth of myometrial infiltration, there was no difference in survival rates between patients with adenoacanthoma and adenosquamous carcinoma, provided hysterectomy was part of the primary treatment. In patients who had surgery, myometrial infiltration was the most important single prognostic factor. It is recommended that the terms adenoacanthoma and adenosquamous carcinoma be replaced by the descriptive term adenocarcinoma with squamous cell differentiation.