CHEMOPREVENTION OF CANCER OF UTERINE CERVIX - A STUDY ON CHEMOPREVENTION OF RETINAMIDE-II FROM CERVICAL PRECANCEROUS LESIONS

Dysplasia of the uterine cervix is a recognized precancerous condition . Because of the observed ability of retinoids to suppress various cel l lines in vitro, a number of clinical studies have examined tie effec t these agents have on cervical dysplasia, with the object of developi ng a means of chemoprevention of cervical malignancies in women at ris k. Three cervical cancer chemoprevention trials with Retinamide II (RI I) have been conducted at the Cancer Institute, Chinese Academy of Med ical Sciences, Beijing, China. A pilot study used RII to intervene in cases of precancerous cervical dysplasia. Twenty-seven women with mild , moderate, or servere cervical dysplasia, pathologically confirmed, w ere treated by RII suppositories, 10 mg QD, given intravaginally for 6 months teach course lasting 3 months). The results indicated that aft er the second course, the overall response rate was 96.29% and the com plete response rate was 88.89%. In general, side effects were mild. A little cervical and vaginal irritation was well tolerated. in the seco nd double-blind study, patients with precancerous cervical lesions wer e randomized into two groups, one treated with RII suppository intrava ginally and the other with a placebo, once daily for 50 days in two co urses. Precancerous lesions in 68.76% of patients in the treatment arm disappeared, with an overall effective rate of 74.29% after two cours es of treatment with RII. its curative effect was approximately that o f laser beam radiation and electrocautery (P > 0.05), and differed sig nificantly (P < 0.01) from that of traditional antiinflammatories. RII can be a major measure in prevention and treatment of cervical cancer in high-incidence areas in China. in the third trial, we are conducti ng a randomized double-blind study placebo controlled, in a high-incid ence area of cervical cancer (Xiang-Yuan county, Shang Xi Province, Ch ina). At present, the patients are being followed up and the study wil l be completed after 2 years. (C) 1998 Wiley-Liss, inc.