Oxygen tension and vascular density in adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix

The prognosis of patients with carcinoma of the uterine cervix has been sho wn to depend on the oxygenation and vascularization status of the tumors. T he purpose of the study reported here was to search for possible difference s in oxygen tension and vascular density between adenocarcinomas and squamo us cell carcinomas. Ten patients with adenocarcinoma and forty patients wit h squamous cell carcinoma were included in the study. Oxygen tension was me asured polarographically using the Eppendorf pO(2) Histograph 6650. Vascula r density was determined by histological examination of tumor biopsies. The adenocarcinomas were significantly better oxygenated than the squamous cel l carcinomas. The squamous cell carcinomas and the adenocarcinomas did not differ significantly in vascular density. The difference in prognosis betwe en patients with adenocarcinoma and patients with squamous cell carcinoma i s probably not attributable to differences in tumor oxygenation or vascular ization.