Impact of the introduction of organised screening for cervical cancer in Turin, Italy: cancer incidence by screening history 1992–98

After an organised cervical screening programme was introduced in Turin in 1992, the age-adjusted cervical cancer incidence ratio in 1992–98 was 0.81 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.59–1.09) for invited vs not invited women and 0.25 (95% CI 0.13–0.50) for attenders vs non attenders. An organised screening programme can further reduce cervical cancer incidence in an area where substantial spontaneous activity was previously present

ELECTRON-SPIN RESONANCE STUDIES ON NORMAL HUMAN-UTERUS AND CERVIX AND ON BENIGN AND MALIGNANT UTERINE-TUMORS

Electron spin resonance (ESR) studies at −130° have been made on frozen samples of normal human cervix and uterus and on frozen samples of various pathological conditions of the cervix and uterus including fibroleiomyoma and carcinoma. Fifty-five samples of normal cervix and endometrium, 40 samples of nonmalignant disturbances, 15 benign tumor samples, and 20 malignant samples were studied. Very strong ESR signals were seen in frozen powders and frozen intact samples of normal cervix and endometrium and in nonmalignant gynecological conditions. In many cases, the ESR signal was greatly decreased or even undetectable in cancer samples. The substance(s) responsible for the ESR signal in frozen intact tissue (g = 2.11 to 2.15) is decreased in concentration when the sample is ground to powder under liquid nitrogen, and an anisotropic signal (g = 2.002 to 2.035) then becomes much more evident. The ESR signals in intact and in powder samples are sensitive to temperature variations; the signals disappear around 0°, and only the intact samples show significant recovery of signal on recooling. The anisotropic g values and temperature sensitivity in the powders may result from an organic peroxy radical that is more strongly associated with a metal ion in intact samples

Cell kinetics in ovarian cancer. Relationship to clinicopathologic features, responsiveness to chemotherapy, and survival

The tumor proliferative activity of 74 previously untreated epithelial ovarian carcinomas was evaluated by the thymidine labeling index (TLI) and the primer-dependent alpha DNA polymerase assay (PDP-LI). The median TLI and PDP-LI were 2% (0.1 to 28.0) and 10% (3.0 to 80.0), respectively. The TLI was significantly correlated to tumor grade, International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage, and residual disease. However, neither the TLI nor the PDP-LI was a predictor of survival. A higher response rate was observed in the case of rapidly proliferating tumors: an objective response (OR) was observed in 38.4% of the patients with a low TLI and in 53.6% of the patients with a high TLI. The advantage of an OR in favor of the high TLI group was significant for patients treated with regimens containing doxorubicin (high TLI, 72.2% OR; low TLI, 40% OR; P = 0.03).<