Diagnosis and Management of Microinvasive Carcinoma of the Uterine Cervix

There are three latency phases in the natural history of microinvasive cancer of the uterine cervix (MIC). The first is between the appearance of intraepithelial neoplasia and the first invasive breakthrough into the cervical stroma, the second phase is between this first breach of the basement membrane and the formation of recognizable buds. The third phase ends when the small buds in the stroma establish themselves as entities capable of further spread. The colposcopic appearance of MIC depends on its location and size of the field of CIN from which it arises. One third of early invasive foci originate from th…