Mean nuclear volume in squamous cell carcinoma of the vulva.

OBJECTIVE

To compare mean nuclear volume (MNV) estimated by the stereologic intercept method in lymph node-positive and -negative cases of squamous cell carcinoma of the vulva.

STUDY

DESIGN

This retrospective study consisted of 53 cases (lymph node metastasis, n = 19; cases without lymph node metastasis, n = 34) of squamous cell carcinoma of the vulva. MNV was estimated with the help of an image cytometer. The nuclear point intersection method was used to measure MNV. The mean nuclear volumes of both lymph node-positive and -negative cases were compared.

RESULT: MNV in the lymph node-negative and -positive cases was 717.0 +/- 533.1 and 1,961.4 +/- 1,369.6 microns 3, respectively (P < .000, Mann-Whitney U test). There was a significant difference in MNV between the 2 groups of tumors.

CONCLUSION

The observations from the present study suggest that estimation of MNV of malignant squamous cells from the vulva on conventional histopathology sections may provide an objective and useful diagnostic tool in predicting lymph node metastasis.