1995 Volume 34 Issue 4 Pages 729-736
Cytopathological and therapeutic effects obtained in 14 patients with cervical adenocarcinoma, who underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy, were examined. Two courses of combination chemotherapy were administered prior to the treatment: MMC 10 mg/body day #1, Etoposide 100 mg/m2 days #1, 3 and 5, and Cisplatin 50 mg/m2 day #1 (MEP). The relationship between cytopathological and clinical effects was evaluated after chemotherapy. The cytologic changes produced by chemotherapy were a sheetlike cell arrangement, vesicular cytoplasm or cytoplasmic vacuoles, amphophilia, enlargement of some nucleoli, multinucleation and a regular distribution of very finely granular chromatin. These cytological findings appear to reflect a good chemotherapeutic effect. In contrast, when the epithelial surface was necrotic or had no lesion with deep stromal invasion, there was a disparity between the results of cytology and those of histology. In addition, glandular structures and nuclear atypia tended to persist although the cytoplasmic degeneration was marked in cases with mucus producing adenocarcinoma cells. With respect to the direct anti-tumor effect of MEP therapy, there were 2 CR, 4 PR and 7 NC cases. The therapeutic effect was relatively good with an overall efficacy rate of 46.2%, and there was a clear correlation between therapeutic and cytopathological effects.
