Histopathologic prognostic factors in stage II and III squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix. An evaluation of 91 patients treated primarily with radiation therapy.

Pretreatment biopsies in 54 patients with Stage II and 37 patients with Stage III squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix were reviewed. The patients were all diagnosed, staged, and treated in a uniform manner in a single radiation therapy unit. The biopsies were scored for degree of keratinization, nuclear pleomorphism, frequency of mitoses, cell size, inflammation, desmoplastic pattern of invasion, and presence or absence of vascular infiltration by tumor. Regression analysis and comparative survivals were analyzed to identify histologic parameters of prognostic value. The 5-year survivals were 60 and 32% for Stage II and III tumors, respectively. None of the histologic parameters evaluated was found to predict patient survival. Subclassification of the tumors by World Health Organization grading criteria also failed to predict patient survival. Stage of disease was the only factor that correlated with patient outcome.