An immunoperoxidase study of the components of the basal membrane in cancers of the cervix]

An immunohistochemical study of samples from 12 cervical carcinomas was carried out using monoclonal antibodies against laminin (L) and heparan sulfate proteoglycan (HSP). Cryostat sections of operative and biopsy specimens were processed by the immunoperoxidase method. L and HSP were identified in the basal membrane of normal and neoplastic epithelium. Basal membrane disruptions were found in in situ, microinvasive and invasive carcinomas. However, in the first group they were less common and occurred only in the presence of lymphohistiocytic infiltration of the underlying stroma. An inverse relationship was established between depth of invasion and amount of L and HSP in the basal membrane of tumor epithelium.