Histologic malignancy grading in invasive squamous cell carcinoma of the vulva

A preliminary report on a histologic malignancy grading of vulvar carcinoma is presented. A retrospective histologic study of 40 vulvar carcinoma cases stage I and II (TNM-system) with a minimum five-year follow-up was carried out and correlated to the course of the disease. Morphologic criteria characterizing the tumor cell population, as well as the tumor-host relationship, were examined and scored. The scores obtained could be divided into three groups that correlated well with the clinical outcome. The low-score group had no metastases or recurrence, whereas 82% of the high-score group had both metastases and fatalities. Depth of invasion was found to have a strong correlation to clinical outcome. A more accurate morphologic malignancy grading of such carcinomas could lead to a more individual and often less radical treatment plan.