[An analysis of nuclear DNA histogram of adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix].

To evaluate the clinical behaviour of adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix, the nuclear DNA content was microspectrophotometrically measured. And the relationship between the DNA histogram and histologic features (the extension of the tumor, histologic differentiation, histologic type, and size of lesion) was examined. The results were as follows: (1) The incidence of aneuploidy in cases with carcinoma extending beyond the cervix (group A) was 58.5% (10/17), significantly more than the 11.8% (2/17) in cases with carcinoma confined to the cervix (group B). And the DNA content was distributed more widely in group A than in group B. (2) As the degree of histologic differentiation decreased, the incidence of aneuploidy became higher and DNA content was distributed more widely. (3) Concerning the histologic type and size of the lesion, no definite tendency was noted in the ploidy pattern or in the distribution of DNA content. In conclusion, it was thought that aneuploidy and the wide distribution of DNA content in cervical adenocarcinoma suggests that the carcinoma may have extended beyond the cervix.