Abstract
Background: There is epidemiological and laboratory evidence for an association between invasive squamous cell cervical cancer and female sex steroid hormones, such as oral contraceptives. Materials and Methods: Premenopausal (n=72) and postmenopausal (n=118) women with invasive squamous epithelial cervical cancer were included in this study. Serum estradiol and progesterone and DNA S-phase fraction as a measure of proliferative activity were analysed, in 51 pre-, and 77 postmenopausal women, among whom 13 and 43, respectively, died from disease. Results: There was a significant positive correlation between a low serum estradiol/progesterone ratio and short survival in those premenopausal women who eventually died from cancer (p=0.02). Clinical stage was similar when the estradiol/progesterone ratio was dichotomized. There was no association between estradiol/progesterone ratio and survival-months in postmenopausal women. In both pre- and postmenopausal women deceased from cervical cancer, a S-phase fraction at or above 12% was correlated with reduced survival-months (p=0.03). Conclusion: These results, if confirmed, contribute to bridging the gap between previous epidemiological and laboratory findings of an association between female sex steroid hormones and squamous cell cervical cancer.
Footnotes
- Received June 21, 2004.
- Revision received November 16, 2004.
- Accepted December 20, 2004.
- Copyright© 2005 International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. John G. Delinassios), All rights reserved