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INTRAUTERINE SPONGE BIOPSY

A New Technic to Screen for Early Intrauterine Malignancy

Department of Gynaecology, Western Infirmary and the Department of Pathology, Victoria Infirmary, Glasgow, Scotland.

Intrauterine sponge biopsy is a new method to obtain samples of endometrium and endocervix suitable for histologic examination. An abrasive polyvinyl sponge is passed into the uterus in an IUCD introducer, and as it is withdrawn from the uterus, it abrades and absorbs the tissue. The entire sponge is processed as a routine histologic specimen. This is an outpatient procedure suitable for screening asymptomatic women at risk from uterine cancer. Analysis of 250 such sponge biopsies, correlated with formal curettage material, confirmed the technic's ability to detect or suspect endometrial cancer in all but one patient. Adequate biopsies were obtained in 97.6% of cases where tissue was available and the endocervix and ectocervix were sampled in 32%, including all invasive carcinomas of the cervix.