Histochemical study of epithelial mucin in endometrial hyperplasia and adenocarcinomas

The pattern and type of mucin were studied on 37 curettage specimens. These cases were formed of 25 endometria showing normal proliferative and secretory phase and 12 endometria showing hyperplastic changes. Fifteen hysterectomy specimens from cases of endometrial adenocarcinoma were also examined in this work. All cases were stained by Hematoxylin and Eosin, periodic acid-schiff [P.A.S.] and alcian blue. The cases of endometrial hyperplasia showed the same distribution of both types of mucin secreted by the normal endometrial glands, although increased in quantity. Most of endometrial adenocarcinomas contained different quantities of cellular mucin, which was found to be more abundant and widely distributed in the well differentiated than in the moderately or poorly differentiated ones. It was observed that the histochemical properties, site and pattern of mucin secretion in these cases strongly resembled that seen in the normal endometrium. This may play a role in differentiating adenocarcinoma of endometrial origin from other carcinomas in the female genital tract like that of endocervical origin