Types of reaction in the regional lymph nodes in non-metastatic and minute-metastatic carcinoma of the uterine cervix.

The authors studied tissue reactions in the regional lymph nodes of 68 patients with an invasive cancer of the uterine cervix at stage I and II of neoplastic disease. Two basic types of the lymph nodes reactions have been distinguished. In the first type of changes a reactive hyperplasia of sinusoidal histiocytosis predominated, as well as distinct activation of lymphocyte production within the follicles and numerous aggregates of plasmacytoid cells within the medullary cords. The second type of reaction was characterised by fibroplastic reaction causing constriction and block of capsular lymphatic and blood vessels, the pseudotransformation into hemolymph node and hematoxyphilic atrophy of lymphoreticular tissue. The authors' observations indicate that in case with the predominance of the second type reaction within regional lymph nodes arise favourable conditions for the production of distant metastases.