Coexistent squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix.

The clinical and pathological features of 20 patients with coexistent squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix have been analyzed. Various combinations of in situ and invasive carcinomas were found. Located adjacent to each other and at times intermingling, these lesions probably originated from the subcolumnar reserve cells of the transformation zone. They are early lesions and may be precursors of adenosquamous and mucoepidermoid carcinomas of the cervix. The diagnosis of these double carcinomas depends upon being aware that the two entities may coexist in the same cervix. Treatment is conventional, and the prognosis is not worsened by the presence of the two types of neoplasms.