From clinical experience it is known that medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) can increase the radiosensitivity of adenocarcinomas of the corpus uteri. This study investigates this phenomenon in vitro. Primary explants of highly differentiated adenocarcinomas were irradiated with or without pretreatment with MPA and compared with an untreated control group and to a group treated with MPA only. Cell culture itself was performed on an agarose medium in order to prevent overgrowth by fibroblasts. Untreated samples formed 43 ± 5 clones, explants treated with MPA only produced 39 ± 5 clones, a difference which was not statistically different; samples irradiated without pretreatment produced 16 ± 8 and samples after combined treatment 9 ± 3 clones (all values x ± SD). This numeric reduction of cell growth through preirradiation treatment with MPA was statistically significant. The effect of MPA as a radiosensitizer may be due to its potential to prolong the radiosensitive G2 phase of the cell cycle. This effect of MPA may be useful also in other hormone‐dependent tumors.

74 patients with untreated cervical cancer (FIGO II and III) were skintested with a battery of recall antigens, and also sensitised and challenged with DNCB. A significant reduction of reaction to Tuberkulin, Varidase and also to DNCB was found in patients with stage III in comparison to healthy females of the same age group. Significant changes in immunoglobulin levels, increase of IgA and decrease of IgG were ovserved in the cancer patients. Serum lysozyme values were the same as in the control group.

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