Endocervical curettage, cone margins, and residual adenocarcinoma in situ of the cervix

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate endocervical curettage (ECC) and cone margin involvement in the management of adenocarcinoma in situ of the cervix. METHODS: Forty-two women with adenocarcinoma in situ without any associated invasive component underwent 49 cervical conizations. The ECC, cone margin involvement, and residual endocervical glandular disease were evaluated in a retrospective descriptive study. RESULTS: The patients ranged from 18 to 65 years old, with a median of 34 years and a mean of 37 years. Nineteen of 42 (45%) of the women presented with initial cervicovaginal cytology suggesting endocervical glandular abnormality. Twenty-seven patients (64%) had mixed lesions of adenocarcinoma in situ and squamous dysplasia noted in their cervical biopsy, conization, or hysterectomy specimens. Forty ECCs were performed at colposcopy or immediately after conization; 28 patients with ECCs subsequently underwent conization, and 12 underwent hysterectomy. Residual adenocarcinoma in situ was found in 18 (67%) of the 27 patients with negative ECCs and in ten of 13 women with positive ECCs. Residual adenocarcinoma in situ was found in two of seven patients with negative cone margins and seven of ten patients with positive margins. CONCLUSION: We found that negative ECCs and uninvolved cone margins in patients with cervical adenocarcinoma in situ were not reassuring of the absence of residual endocervical glandular disease in subsequent surgical specimens. Conservative management and subsequent surveillance of adenocarcinoma in situ should be undertaken with caution.