Clinical Implications of Tumor Volume Measurement in Stage I Adenocarcinoma of the Cervix

OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the prognostic significance of threedimensional determination of tumor size in stage I cervical adenocarcinoma. METHODS:Tumor volume was measured using hematoxylin and eosin-stained sections of cone biopsy and hysterectomy specimens from 36 patients with stage I adenocarcinoma of the cervix. The volume was then correlated with pelvic lymphatic spread and clinical outcome. RESULTS:The subjects were followed for a mean (± SEM) of 63 ± 8 months. No recurrence or lymphatic seeding was encountered in the 22 tumors measuring no more than 500 mm. Two of 25 tumors (8%) having up to 5 mm depth of stromal invasion had lymph node metastasis, one of which was 1.5 mm, compared with four of 11 (36%) in the group with deeper than 5 mm invasion (P