Podophyllin-Induced Dysplasia of the Cervix Uteri: Its Histologic Resemblance to CarcinomaIn Situ

Abstract

The cervix uteri of 29 patients who were admitted for hysterectomy and who also disclosed various cervical keratoses were treated with topical applications of podophyllin. Histologic studies of these cervices, pertaining to areas remote from the keratoses, disclosed varying degrees of cellular atypism of the epithelium of the ectocervix with hyperchromasia, large nuclei and nucleoli, and huge bizarre, seemingly atypical, mitotic figures. The changes affected principally the basal and parabasal cells, but occasionally the entire thickness of the epithelial cell layer was involved. These alterations were, in many respects, similar to those observed in so-called carcinoma in situ of the cervix uteri. Their significance and their resemblance to carcinoma in situ are discussed.