Invasive squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix. VII. Influence of vehicle osmolarity on biopsy quality.

Abstract

A histopathologic grading system for more reliable determination of the prognosis in individual patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix necessitates better sampling and fixation techniques. Fixation in 10 per cent formalin and 0.17 mol phosphate buffer at pH 7.0, with an effective osmolarity of 350 mmol/l, gave optimal stainability, and minimized tissue shrinkage and sectioning artefacts. Vessels remained open, which facilitated the analysis of vascular invasion. A newly designed biopsy forceps yielded large and representative specimens with a minimum of pressure distortion.