[Cytologic cancer prevention in the vulva. Morphologic study of an extensive case material]

464 patients, 286 healthy patients and 178 patients with lesions of the vulva had cytological and/or histologic examinations of the vulva. The normal vulva sheds in approximately 50% of the cases anucleate squames and in approximately 50% of the cases parakeratotic cells. In benign lesions of the vulva, in 1/3 of the cases each one finds either and anucleate squames, parakeratotic cells or mildly dyskariotic cells. In premalignant lesions 1/2 of the cases exfoliate mildly dyskariotic cells and the other 1/2 severely dyskariotic cells. In carcinoma of the vulva cytologic evidence of cancer is found in approximately 60% of the cases whereas 34% of the cases only show severely dyskariotic cells and 6% only mildly dyskariotic cells. Ulcers and defects do not increase the yield of exfoliated tumour cells. Exfoliative cytology of the vulva is considered to be an important part of the early diagnosis of cancer of the vulva.