Significance of mucin secretion in carcinoma of uterine cervix.

Biopsies from 300 cases with clinical diagnosis of carcinoma cervix were subjected to H&E staining, PAS with diastase and alcian blue at pH 2.5. Interpretation of cases on basis of H&E staining alone and on basis of H&E and mucin stains was done and results compared with each other. Categorization into squamous cell carcinoma (well, moderately & poorly differentiated), adenocarcinoma and mixed carcinoma was done. Morphologic assessment of cases of H&E stain revealed 282 (94%) cases of squamous cell carcinoma, 8 (2.66%) cases of adeno carcinoma and 10 (3.38%) cases of mixed carcinoma respectively. While on the basis of H&E and mucin stains, squamous cell carcinoma case turned out to be 266 (88.66%) in number; mixed carcinomas which included adenosquamous carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma with mucin secretion accounted for 26 (8.66%) of cases, number of adenocarcinoma was unchanged i.e. 8 (2.66%). 16 of 282 cases (5.6%) diagnosed as squamous cell carcinoma on H&E stain alone were reclassified as mixed carcinoma on inclusion of mucin stains. Thus mucin stains are very helpful in deciding the types of carcinoma cervix and should be done in all cases of carcinoma cervix in order to avoid errors in diagnosis and to detect poorly differentiated mixed carcinomas, which may escape detection by H&E staining.