Minimal deviation carcinoma (adenoma malignum) of the cervix

Minimal deviation carcinoma of the cervix is very rare, representing about 1% of adenocarcinomas of the cervix and less than one-sixth of well-differentiated cervical carcinomas. Composed of distorted glands having an irregular outline and deeply positioned in the cervix, minimal deviation carcinoma often requires hysterectomy to produce a sufficiently deep margin to permit identification of invasion. The gross appearance of the cervix may be normal in early lesions. Minimal deviation carcinoma often grows slowly. The two patients who died of cervical adenocarcinoma did so 6 and 14 years after initial diagnosis and treatment. The 13 cases in this report differ from those previously reported in that the cell types were more varied (most cases in the literature are of a mucinous cell type), the carcinomas were identified at early stages, and the survival of patients was much better than in earlier reports. An association with independent ovarian neoplasms was found.