Serum retinol level and risk of subsequent cervical cancer in cases with cervical dysplasia

We followed up on 134 women who had been diagnosed with cervical dysplasia to examine the relationship of dietary and serum vitamin A to subsequent ce rvical cancer. The subjects were women attending the Papanicolaou test scre ening for residents in Miyagi, Japan and histologically diagnosed as having cervical dysplasia between October 1987 and September 1988. Personal inter views were carried out, and blood samples were taken on the date of diagnos is of cervical dysplasia. The subjects were followed-up with cervical smear and colposcopy at about 3-month intervals from the date of interview until the end of February 1995. During the follow-up, 8 women (5.9%) developed c ancer in situ or invasive cervical cancer and 106 (79.1%) reverted to norma l. The rate of progression of the cancer in situ ol invasive cervical cance l was 4.5 times higher in women with lower serum retinol levels than those with higher serum retinol levels (p = 0.08). The results suggest an associa tion of low serum retinol level with development of cervical cancer.