Multinucleated stromal giant cells of the uterine cervix.

A prospective clinicopathological study including 100 consecutive hysterectomies and 100 consecutive cone specimens to investigate the frequency and pathogenesis of multinucleated stromal giant cells (SGCs) in the uterine cervix is presented. Sections containing SGCs were analyzed by immunohistochemical methods for the presence of cytokeratin, S-100 protein, factor VIII, desmin, muramidase, alpha 1-antichymotrypsin, and vimentin. Tissue for electron microscopy was punched out of four paraffin blocks from four different cases. SGCs were not found in patients < 30 years old, but their incidence increased with age until the sixth decade, at which time they were found in 42% of patients. We found at the same time that the incidence of SGCs declines in the seventh decade. SGCs were not related to any inflammatory or granulomatous lesion, and their presence was independent of other clinical parameters, such as hormonal therapy, history of trauma on the uterine cervix, pregnancy, or parity in general. Immunohistochemical and ultrastructural analyses support the concept of a fibroblastic-histiocytic origin of SGCs. SGCs in the uterine cervix may reflect a physiological tissue reaction during the transition from the fertile to the postmenopausal state.