A new and rapid method for diagnosis of vaginal and cervical cancer by fluorescence microscopy

Abstract

URRENT developments in the cytological C diagnosis of cancer are characterized by 2 main objectives: first, to find rapid screening methods and, second, to establish cytochemical criteria characteristic of malignant growth.The fundamental importance, diagnostic merits, and broad application of the Papanicolaou method68 in exfoliative cytology needs no elaboration.However, it is generally agreed that the technique is demanding in terms of both time and skill of the examiner, thus presenting a serious problem for mass screening programs.29144Various methods to expedite cytological diagnosis have been proposed, but the need for simpler and more rapid methods still remains.Classical methods of exfoliative cytology, culminating in the Papanicolaou technique, essentially use morphological criteria for diagnosis.More recently, there has been extensive investigation of cytochemical characteristics, with the expectation to arrive eventually at a sharper distinction between benign proliferative processes and early or poorly defined ma-I n many cases results have been negative or indifferent.There is, however, general agreement that the nucleic acids hold a key position in protein synthesis, growth, and carcinogenesis.