Clinical Outcomes of Pleomorphic High-grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesions of the Uterine Cervix: A Single-institutional Experience of 44 Cases.

Background/aim: Pleomorphic high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (PHSILs) of the uterine cervix are characterized by strikingly pleomorphic and enlarged nuclei with brisk mitotic activity. The aim of this study was to analyze the clinical outcomes of patients with PHSIL.

Patients and methods: Clinical data were collected from the electronic medical records of 44 patients with PHSIL.

Results: The patients' mean age was 52.1 years. The initial cytological diagnosis was HSIL in 43.2% of patients. High-risk human papillomavirus was detected in 89.5% of patients. The human papillomavirus type was not predominated by one specific type. The patients were treated with conization alone or with conization with subsequent hysterectomy. Two cases of squamous cell carcinoma coexisting with PHSIL, and one case of adenoid basal carcinoma were detected among the surgical specimens. Follow-up cytology revealed negative results for intraepithelial lesions in all patients, except for one patient who experienced recurrent PHSIL 41 months after hysterectomy and underwent laser ablation.

Conclusion: The incidence rates of concurrent squamous cell carcinoma (4.5%) and recurrence (2.3%) in our PHSIL cohort were lower than those previously reported in patients with conventional HSIL. Our findings suggest that pleomorphic nuclear change alone in PHSIL was not associated with worse clinical outcomes than conventional HSIL and support the notion that PHSIL does not require more aggressive clinical management than conventional HSIL. However, close follow-up with cytological examination may be necessary to determine the potential risk of recurrence.