Detection of preinvasive and early invasive cancer by 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase determinations

Abstract

The reliability of the 6-PGD enzyme assay was investigated in a series comprising 227 benign lesions, 11 dysplasia lesions, 66 intraepithelial carcinomas, 17 early invasive carcinomas, and 140 invasive squamous cell carcinomas of the cervix. Raised enzyme levels were found in 63.6 per cent of the dysplasia lesions, 71.2 per cent of the intraepithelial carcinomas, 94.2 per cent of the early invasive lesions, and in 97.8 per cent of the frankly invasive carcinomas. The false positive rate was high in postmenopausal controls (75 per cent), and trichomoniasis was almost always followed by raised enzyme levels. In premenopausal controls without Trichomonas infection, the false positive rate was found to be only 20 per cent when the vaginal fluid samples were collected during the last third of the menstrual cycle.