Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data
Citation:
Radswiki T, Knipe H, Bell D, et al. Tunnel cluster. Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 16 Apr 2024) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-14968
Disclosures:
At the time the article was last revised Henry Knipe had the following disclosures:
- Radiopaedia Events Pty Ltd, Speaker fees (past)
- Integral Diagnostics, Shareholder (ongoing)
- Micro-X Ltd, Shareholder (ongoing)
These were assessed during peer review and were determined to
not be relevant to the changes that were made.
View Henry Knipe's current disclosures
Tunnel clusters are a type of nabothian cyst characterized by complex multicystic dilatation of the endocervical glands.
Tunnel cluster is found in ~8% of adult women, 40% of whom are pregnant, almost exclusively multigravid women, and older than 30 years.
They may occasionally cause mucoid discharge 7.
A tunnel cluster is more likely the result of a stimulatory phenomenon occurring during pregnancy that can persist for a variable period. It is a benign pseudoneoplastic glandular lesion of the cervix and is usually comprised of a rounded aggregate of 20-50 closely packed tubules of varying sizes.
Subtypes
Tunnel clusters can be characterized as:
Treatment and prognosis
Tunnel clusters are supposed to be involutional in nature and are usually of no clinical significance 5.
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History and etymology
They were first described by Fluhmann in 1961 5.
On imaging appearances consider:
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1. Bin park S, Lee JH, Lee YH et-al. Multilocular cystic lesions in the uterine cervix: broad spectrum of imaging features and pathologic correlation. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2010;195 (2): 517-23. doi:10.2214/AJR.09.3619 - Pubmed citation
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2. Segal GH, Hart WR. Cystic endocervical tunnel clusters. A clinicopathologic study of 29 cases of so-called adenomatous hyperplasia. Am. J. Surg. Pathol. 1990;14 (10): 895-903. - Pubmed citation
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3. Jones MA, Young RH. Endocervical type A (noncystic) tunnel clusters with cytologic atypia. A report of 14 cases. Am. J. Surg. Pathol. 1996;20 (11): 1312-8. Am. J. Surg. Pathol. (link) - Pubmed citation
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4. Sugiyama K, Takehara Y. MR findings of pseudoneoplastic lesions in the uterine cervix mimicking adenoma malignum. Br J Radiol. 2007;80 (959): 878-83. doi:10.1259/bjr/16282081 - Pubmed citation
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5. Jordan JA, Singer A, Jones HW et-al. The cervix. Wiley-Blackwell. (2006) ISBN:1405131373. Read it at Google Books - Find it at Amazon
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6. Hui P. Cytology and Surgical Pathology of Gynecologic Neoplasms. Springer Verlag. (2010) ISBN:1607611635. Read it at Google Books - Find it at Amazon
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7. Nucci MR, Oliva E. Gynecologic Pathology. Churchill Livingstone. (2009) ISBN:0443069204. Read it at Google Books - Find it at Amazon
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8. Okamoto Y, Tanaka YO, Nishida M et-al. MR imaging of the uterine cervix: imaging-pathologic correlation. Radiographics. 2003;23 (2): 425-45. Radiographics (full text) - doi:10.1148/rg.232025065 - Pubmed citation
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