A study on radiosensitivity and prognostic factors of cervical adenocarcinoma

Investigations were made, with the patient having uterine cervical adenocarcinoma of differentiated type, on the histological damage of tumor cells caused by irradiation, on the time course of the diminution of adenocarcinoma cells and on the reason why the prognosis of patients with adenocarcinoma is usually poorer than those with squamous cell carcinoma. The results obtained are as follows: 1. As to the histological picture of good irradiation effect, the damage of the nucleus, desquamation of adenocarcinoma cells from their bases and the decrease in the number of carcinoma nests are important changes. 2. The time course of the decrease of the number of adenocarcinoma cells due to irradiation was markedly slower than that of squamous cell carcinoma. 3. As important factors affecting the prognosis of patients with adenocarcinoma, the method of treatments, clinical stage, the size of cervical tumor and the degree of histological invasion may be implicated. In particular, regardless to the method of treatments good prognosis may not be expected to the case which is at advanced clinical stage, has hypertrophy of the cervix greater than 4.5 cm in diameter or deep ulcer formation or shows histological picture of severe infiltration. (author)