VAGINAL CLEAR-CELL CARCINOMA IN A YOUNG PATIENT WITH ECTOPIC TERMINATION OF THE LEFT URETER IN THE VAGINA

The association of clear cell adenocarcinoma of the vagina and vaginal adenosis with prenatal exposure to diethylstilbestrol (DES) is well-d ocumented in the United States. In Europe, however, DES was never used in the therapy of threatened abortion and, therefore, adenocarcinoma and vaginal adenosis remained rare diseases. We report on the clinical and pathological features of a case of clear cell adenocarcinoma of t he upper vagina in a 17-year-old German girl, who had a history of hyp oplasia of the left kidney with an ectopic termination of the ureter i n the upper vagina, removed surgically 2 years before. No previous rep ort of a similar coincidence of vaginal clear cell carcinoma and a con genital disorder of the genitourinary tract exists. Congenital anomaly of the ureter interfering with the development and the differentiatio n of the distal Mullerian tract and its epithelium might have provided a similar histological basis for carcinogenesis in our patient to tha t in those provided exposed to DES.