Histochemical Observations on Genital Cancer

Abstract

THE histochemical test of McManus¹ and Hotchkiss² demonstrating the presence of mucopolysaccharides, mucoproteins and glycoproteins Was carried out on cancerous tissue of the vagina, portio and corpus uteri, the Fallopian tube and the ovary. The polygonal stratum of the normal epithelium of the portio gives an intense positive test, while the normal stratum basale remains uncoloured. Cancerous tissue fails to give a positive test even in the pre-invasive intra-epithelial stage. The same result was obtained in cancers originating from other parts of the genital tract. Thus our observations indicate that the McManus–Hotchkiss test is a valuable tool in the early diagnosis of cancers in the pre-invasive stage.