Symposium part IV: investigative approaches to endocervical pathology

There is continuing interest in the study of adenocarcinoma of the cervix and its precursors because of its increase in incidence, both absolute and relative, to squamous neoplasia and the complexity of benign glandular lesions with which endocervical neoplasia may be confused. Investigative techniques may be applied as aids to diagnosis, as prognostic markers, and to further our understanding of etiopathogenesis. This article focuses on recent developments in the four areas of epithelial glycoproteins, molecular markers, cell proliferation markers, and human papillomaviruses as applied to endocervical pathology. Although immunohistochemistry remains dominant, a wide range of other techniques is discussed.