Histomorphometry of normal and abnormal cervical samples.

Abstract

We quantitatively studied the nuclear and cytoplasmic characteristics of cells in the normal cervix, squamous intraepithelial lesions (cervical intraepithelial neoplasia [CIN]) lesions and cervical human papillomavirus (HPV) infection with and without CIN (condyloma-CIN and condyloma-NCIN groups, respectively). The morphometric features of the deep, middle and superficial layers of the cervical epithelium were calculated on 143 cervical samples. The morphometric parameters selected for the analysis were area; perimeter; maximal, minimal and equivalent circle diameters; nuclear/cytoplasmic ratio; and several shape factors. Our quantitative findings support the opinion of other authors that HPV infection is associated with shape and size modifications of the nucleus and cytoplasm in CIN. In relation to cellular size, there were no differences between a normal cell, regardless of its region, and a virus-infected cell. The nuclear differences are predominantly in the deep layer areas. The CIN samples showed changes in both cellular and nuclear form and size but lacked substantial differences in the tumor grades and areas studied. The condyloma-CIN samples revealed more notable differences in both tumor grade differentiation and different cellular layers.