Cervical Cancer

Cervical cancer has a high incidence and is a rapidly progressive illness among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected women. This cancer has received increasing attention since 1993 following its addition to the list of AIDS-defining illnesses monitored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).[1] With increased heterosexual transmission of HIV and frequent co-infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV),[1] invasive cervical cancers will appear more often among HIV-infected women.

The Gynecologic Cancer Foundation, along with the American Hospital Association, has declared September 1999 the first annual Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month. Each year, 82,000 women in the United States (ie, 1 in every 25 women) are

The 14 reports in this special supplement discuss theuse of the cytoprotectant amifostine in patients withcancer of the head and neck, esophagus, lung, andcervix, as well as those with lymphoma and acutemyelogenous leukemia. Discussions focus on thepotential of this agent to both reduce radiation sideeffects such as xerostomia and permit doseescalation of chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy.Improvements in treatment outcome and quality oflife as a result of cytoprotection are examined.

Standard radiation therapy for patients with latestage cervical cancer (stage IIIB) should be adjusted so that each patient receives moderate doses of external-beam radiation therapy plus radioactive implants, according to a study led by Dr. Mark

SAN FRANCISCO-A single-visit cervical cancer screening program conducted before and after church services may help extend the benefits of early diagnosis and treatment to underserved populations, according to research presented at the 30th annual meeting of the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists.

SAN FRANCISCO-The Pap smear has long been one of the great success stories of gynecologic oncology. In the 50 years it has been used, it has reduced the death rate from cervical cancer by 70%.

One of the cornerstones of gynecologic cancer surgery is the assessment and removal of the retroperitoneal lymph nodes. Numerous reports have demonstrated that, when performed by highly skilled individuals, laparoscopic

SAN FRANCISCO-A major intergroup phase III study reported at the 30th Annual Meeting of the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists has shown that adding chemotherapy to radiation therapy improves the overall survival rate for women with high-risk early-stage cervical cancer. William A. Peters III, MD, of the Puget Sound Oncology Consortium, Seattle, reported the results on behalf of researchers from the Southwest Oncology Group, Gynecologic Oncology Group, and Radiation Therapy Oncology Group.

States would be allowed the option to provide Medicaid coverage for women with breast and cervical cancer through the

BETHESDA, Md-The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has recommended that oncologists use a combination of chemotherapy and radiation instead of radiation alone to treat invasive cervical cancer.

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) recently sent a clinical announcement to thousands of physicians stating that strong consideration should be given to adding chemotherapy to radiation therapy in the treatment of invasive cervical cancer.

Due to the psychosexual consequences and significant morbidity associated with the standard radical vulvectomy procedure, there has been a trend toward vulvar conservation in the management of women with vulvar cancer.

BETHESDA, Md-Buoyed by early findings from a phase I trial, researchers at the National Cancer Institute plan to launch an efficacy trial of an NCI-developed vaccine against human papillo-mavirus-16 (HPV-16), a leading cause of cervical cancer. The study will involve 6,000 women.

Although overall death rates from the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) are declining rapidly, the incidence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in women continues to climb, and HIV-associated gynecologic disease is also likely toincrease over the next decade. In this paper on lower genital tract neoplasia in women with HIV infection, Abercrombie and Korn review some of the many studies documenting the increased incidence of cervical human papillomavirus (HPV) and HPV-asso-ciated disease in this population. The clinical importance of these studies is underscored by recent data from New York City, where the incidence of invasive cervical cancer increased significantly from 1990 to 1995 in HIV-positive women, compared to the general popu-lation of 25- to 49-year-old women.[1]

Women who are infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are at greater risk for the development of lower genital tract neoplasia than are HIV-negative women. Among HIV-positive women, those who are more

NetMed, Inc., a developer and marketer of medical and health-related technologies, announced the commencement of a multicenter US clinical trial of the PAPNET cervical cancer detection system as a primary screening test for Pap smears. The

Several studies have evaluated the use of irinotecan (CPT-11 [Camptosar]), a topoisomerase inhibitor, in the treatment of refractory or recurrent cervical cancer. Various schedules have been used. Response rates have

Recent advances in research focused on identifying genetic and other markers that can predict cancer risk were reported at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). Included in the presentations were reports of

ROCKVILLE, Md--The FDA has approved NeoPath, Inc.’s AutoPap System, an automated diagnostic system for detection of cervical cancer, for use as a primary Pap smear screen. In a prospective, intended use clinical study comprised of more than 25,000 patient slides from five clinical laboratories, AutoPap achieved greater overall accuracy in the early diagnosis of cervical disease than current practice and reduced both false-negative and false-positive test results.

Malignant diseases of the vulva account for an estimated 3% to 5% of gynecologic neoplasia. The pathologic variants are many (Table 1). Squamous cell cancers account for 85% to 90% of these neoplasms. Melanoma, Bartholin gland cancer, Paget’s disease, and the various sarcomas are the other principal neoplasms. The preinvasive forms of the squamous cancer tend to occur in younger women and may be associated with in situ lesions of the cervix, vagina, perineum, and anus.

Endometrial cancer is the most common type of female genital cancer in the United States, with an estimated 32,000 new cases and 5,600 deaths per year. During the first half of the 20th century, the incidence of cervical cancer was greater than

Invasive cancer of the uterine cervix is either the leading or second leading cause of death from cancer among women worldwide and is the leading cause of death from cancer among women in developing countries. In some developing

Therapeutic and prophylactic vaccines that harness the potential of the immune system against a number of gynecologic cancers are now being developed. The therapeutic vaccines coerce the cellular components of the

The World Health Organization (WHO) and European Organization on Genital Infection and Neoplasia (EUROGIN) have

Naturally occurring variants in human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) may put infected women at differing levels of risk for

The high proportion of false negatives associated with Pap smears spurred the development of more effective collection and diagnostic techniques for cervical cells. The Pap smear, a universal standard in the detection of cervical cancer, has recently

BETHESDA, Md--A review of 10 years' experience with HIV-infected patients treated at University Hospital, Newark, NJ, revealed significantly elevated levels of several types of cancers, but a surprising dearth of invasive cervical cancers, which prompted the study's lead author to suggest dropping cervical cancer from the list of AIDS-associated malignancies.

Researchers at the University of Queensland, Australia, have identified the receptor on human skin and mucosal cells that they believe allows papillomaviruses to attach to and infect those cells.

Carcinoma of the cervix is one of the most common malignancies in women, accounting for 15,700 new cases and 4,900 deaths in the United States each year. Worldwide, cervical cancer is second only to breast cancer as the most common

With the introduction of increasingly effective antiretroviral agents for the management of AIDS, the life expectancy of appropriately treated patients will continue to lengthen, as will the length of time during which infected patients may develop malignancies, both HIV-related and non-HIV-related. The management of such patients will require careful consideration of the impact of all oncologic therapy on the immune system's ability to hold the virus at bay. Radiation therapy, with its recognized immunosuppressive effects, plays an important role in the management of the major AIDS-defining neoplasms, Kaposi's sarcoma, primary central nervous system lymphoma, and cervical carcinoma, and is used in approximately 50% of patients with non-HIV-related malignancies at some point in the disease course. The judicious use of radiation therapy and proper integration of aggressive antiretroviral therapy can result in control of malignancies without contributing to the rapid progression of HIV disease. [ONCOLOGY 11(5):683-694, 1997]