Prospective malignancy grading and flow cytometry DNA distribution in biopsy specimens from invasive squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix.

Flow cytometry was used for the investigation of the DNA distribution in biopsy specimens from 72 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix. A prospective grading score system using tumor cell parameters and tumor host parameters was also applied. 50% of the tumors were aneuploid with up to 4 different tumor populations. The definition of DI +/- 8% was applied. The median age of the patients was 61 years with FIGO median value of 2B. Significant correlations were observed between ploidy and MGS-scores and stage stadium according to FIGO. Increasing MGS score was noted with increasingly distorted ploidy. No significant difference was found between DI below and above 1.5 for MGS, FIGO stage stadium, histology according to Ackerman, tumor parameters and tumor host parameters for the total material. However, for aneuploid tumors MGS and tumor cell parameters were related with DI below and above 1.5 (P = 0.05 and P = 0.02, respectively). No correlation between clinical stage according to FIGO and S-phase % was noted. It remains to be settled to what extent DNA flow cytometry and MGS-scoring in our ongoing prospective series of invasive squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix can take their place in the multifactorial prognostic index suggested by Jacobsen et al (Am. J. Clin. Oncol. 8: 39, 1985).