Fluorescence of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia induced by tetracycline and acridine orange

Abstract

Tetracycline compounds and acridine orange fluoresce under ultraviolet light and have been reported to selectively localize in certain human invasive cancers and intraepithelial neoplasms. In the present study an attempt was made to delineate areas of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) by examining the cervices of patients with known CIN who had received tetracycline parenterally or tetracycline or acridine orange topically. The mechanism of fluorescence was also studied in a tissue culture system. An inconsistent pattern of fluorescence was noted in this series, and it was impossible to delineate areas of CIN with the compounds administered or applied. In tissue culture persistent fluorescence was confined to dead cells and cellular debris, suggesting the relative absence of cell death in CIN as a probable mechanism for the failure of these lesions to fluoresce.