Histologic grade and prognosis of carcinoma of the cervix

A histologic grading system based on tumor differentiation was applied in a study of 122 patients with stage IB and IIA squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix. In general, the more dedifferentiated the primary tumor, the more bulky the primary lesion and the higher the incidence of pelvic node metastasis. Following treatment, patients with undifferentiated tumors had a higher incidence of tumor recurrence a lower 2-year survival rate than those with well or moderately differentiated lesions. These findings suggest that histologic grading is an important adjunct to the clinical evaluation of cervical cancer.