Characterization of normal cervical epithelium, intraepithelial neoplasias and cervical carcinomas in vitro by quantitative studies on nuclear overlap behaviour

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Abstract
In an in vitro system the overlap behaviour of cultivated cells of human normal cervical epithelium, dysplasia, carcinoma in situ and invasive cervical carcinoma was examined with a quantitative method initiated by Abercrombie and his co‐workers. The overlap index of cells from normal cervical epithelium was significantly lower than that of all other cells examined (p0.05). Likewise no significant differences were obtained from comparison of overlap indices of cells of carcinoma in situ or dysplasia and cervical carcinoma (p>0.05). The calculated low overlap index of cells cultivated from normal cervical epithelium is a quantitative expression of the monolayering in such cultures. The significant differences of overlap index between cells cultivated from normal cervical epithelium and from intraepithelial atypias and carcinomas of the cervix uteri, and the non‐significant differences between intraepithelial atypias and cervical carcinomas, are considered as an expression of the same biological deviation in preinvasive and invasive lesions of the cervix uteri. Obviously, in spite of the different morphology, dysplasia, carcinoma in situ and invasive carcinoma of the cervix uteri have biologically common features and the different morphological classification of the preinvasive lesions of the cervix uteri does not always reflect their real invasive potential.