Prognostic factors in cervical cancer

The inadequacy of clinical methods has spurred efforts to develop objective, measurable and reproducible parameters for the spread and growth behaviour of cervical cancer. Morphological methods were applied first. They can be used only on the surgical specimen, but are accessible to biometry. The presented results are based on 479 surgical specimens obtained at radical abdominal hysterectomy for cervical cancers of different sizes. The specimens were processed as frontal giant sections with the cervix, the vaginal cuff and the parametria on both sides. The median follow-up time was 7-8 years. Statistical correlations were found between follow-up data, biometric morphologic criteria and survival. The statistical ranking of the significant prognostic factors produced the following order: lymph node metastases, size of lymph node metastases, tumour volume, parametrial involvement and vascular invasion. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.