The role of immunohistochemistry in the differential diagnosis of cervical and endometrial adenocarcinomas

Purpose: The histologic similarity of cervical and endometrial adenocarcinomas and the relative increase in the incidence of cervical adenocarcinomas in comparison with squamous cell carcinomas has drawn attention to the differential diagnosis of these two entities. Because the curettings are not done fractionally, both cervical and endometrial samples are present in the bioptic specimens containing neoplastic tissue. The aim of the present study was to highlight the role of immunohistochemistry in the differential diagnosis of cervical and endometrial adenocarcinomas. Materials and methods: Twelve cases of cervical and 32 cases of endometrial adenocarcinomas were included in the study. A panel of monoclonal antibodies including cytokeratin (CK), epithelial membrane antigen (EMA), vimentin, and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) were studied on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue specimens. Immunohistochemistry was performed with the avidin-biotin peroxidase technique. Results: Cases of endometrial adenocarcinoma exhibited a uniform positivity for vimentin and were generally negative for CEA. In contrast, most cases of cervical adenocarcinoma were positive for CEA and negative for vimentin. Conclusion: Immunostaining with both CEA and vimentin is helpful but not conclusive in the differential diagnosis of the two adenocarcinomas