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Background: Adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix typically is an aggressive neoplasm with a propensity for early invasion and dissemination. Little data are available correlating histologic, histochemical, or immunocytochemical parameters with the biologic behavior of this neoplasm. Specifically, the implication of expression of estrogen and progesterone receptors in cervical adenocarcinoma is essentially undefined., Methods: An immunocytochemical hormone receptor assay using specific monoclonal antibodies against estrogen receptors (ER) and progesterone receptors (PgR) was used to study paraffin-embedded specimens from 54 patients with primary cervical adenocarcinomas. The specimens were evaluated for heterogeneity and intensity of staining. An attempt also was made to study the relationship between the pattern of hormone receptor expression and other established prognostic indicators., Results: In all patients, diffuse positive staining of benign endocervical epithelial or stromal cells was observed. Positive immunostaining was seen in the adenocarcinoma specimens of 16 of 54 (30%) patients for ER and 19 of 54 (35%) patients for PgR. Expression of ER and PgR statistically correlated with each other (P = 0.0001). Endocervical-type adenocarcinoma had the highest degree of staining for both ER and PgR. Clear cell carcinomas and intestinal-type carcinomas were negative for both receptors. Positivity for ER and PgR inversely correlated with histologic grade as defined by the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO). The relationship between hormone receptor expression and FIGO stage was not statistically significant. Survival was associated with clinical stage (P = 0.004) and with immunocytochemical status of ER expression (P = 0.032) and PgR expression (P = 0.009)., Conclusions: This study of 54 specimens from patients with cervical adenocarcinoma suggests that positive expression of ER and PgR is associated with prolonged survival.

We studied 164 cases of Stage I endometrial adenocarcinoma to determine the relative prognostic value of International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) and nuclear grading systems. Other factors known to be of prognostic value in endometrial carcinoma also were evaluated. Both the FIGO and nuclear grading systems correlated with five-year mortality rate from cancer. Nuclear Grade 3 proved to be a superior predictor of fatal outcome (nine of 13 [69%] ) over FIGO Grade 3 (four of 13 [31%]). We advocate the combined use of FIGO and nuclear grading systems, along with other prognostic parameters, for the detection of most patients with fatal cancer.

In a review of more than 1000 patients with osteogenic sarcoma of bone, the vertebral column was the site of the primary tumor in 10 patients. The vertebral osteogenic sarcoma in 4 of the 10 patients was secondary; to Paget's disease of bone in 3, and to irradiation received for a prior cancer in 1. Frequently, cord compression caused severe neurologic symptoms. Prognosis was always poor. Seven patients died of their disease within a year of histologic diagnosis. The differential diagnoses between osteogenic sarcoma and three benign tumors are reviewed, osteoblastoma being the tumor most frequently confused with osteogenic sarcoma. The radiologic and histologic criteria for distinguishing between the two are discussed.

Previous analyses of findings from the Gastrointestinal Tumor Study Group (GITSG) study GI 6175, a four-arm randomized trial of patients with adjuvant colon cancer, have revealed no efficacy for chemotherapy or immunotherapy, but Dukes' Stage was found to have prognostic significance in both survival and disease-free survival. In this study, the exophytic tumor as primary type, maximal tumor dimension, and degree of differentiation were examined for prognostic importance. In a model simultaneously including treatment effects, significance levels for prognosis in total survival were: Dukes' stage (P less than 0.0001), exophytic tumors (P = 0.05), maximal dimension (P = 0.005), and well versus poor differentiated tumors (P = 0.06). This observation about tumor length, adjusted for stage and morphology, provides evidence that size is prognostic in colonic tumors. In addition, an interaction between tumor morphology and immunotherapy, adjusted for Dukes' stage, was noted. In 100 patients with exophytic tumors, significant survival and disease-free survival benefit (P less than 0.02) from immunotherapy occurred. Tumor morphology is found to be an important prognostic variable and should be carefully considered in the construction of future trials in this disease site.