Exfoliative cytology of microinvasive squamous-cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix. A retrospective study of 42 cases.

The cervical scraping smears from 42 cases of microinvasive squamous-cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix with stromal invasion less than 3 mm were reviewed. Microinvasion could be suggested in approximately 60% of the cases by examination of the smears. The cytologic prediction of microinvasion was 14% in cases having stromal invasion less than 1 mm; it increased to 72.7% and 88.2% when stromal invasions were 1.1 to 2 mm and 2.1 to 3 mm in depth, respectively.