title: Effectiveness of 5-Fluorouracil in the treatment of vaginal intraepithelial neoplasia in a mexican population.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Our purpose was to determine the effectiveness of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in the treatment of vaginal intraepithelial neoplasia (VaIN) in a Mexican population.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was performed in 30 patients with a mean age of 54 years and previous diagnoses from reviewed records and histopathology slides selected from a group of 65 patients with VaIN from 1980 to 1997. Patients received intravaginal treatment with 5-FU, 1.5 g once weekly for 10 weeks, and all patients were followed up for a 1-year minimum. Papanicolaou smear and colposcopy were performed, as was biopsy when indicated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-eight (93%) patients with VaIN had prior or concurrent anogenital squamous neoplasia, including 5 with invasive cervical carcinoma and 23 with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia. In 23 of 30 treated patients (77%), VaIN went into remission after a single treatment; in 3, (10%), it went into remission after two treatments; 3 (10%) had recurrent VaIN 3; and in 1 (3%), it progressed to invasive vaginal cancer. The treatment was well tolerated.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We conclude that 5-FU is an option choice for VaIN treatment. It is effective, with minimal side effects. Its use should be confined to treating extensive or multifocal high-grade VaIN.
authors.affiliation: *Colposcopy Clinic of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and † Department of Pathology, Luis Castelazo Ayala Hospital, The Mexican Institute of Social Security, Distrito Federal, Mexico.
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Gonzalez-Sanchez
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Flores-Murrieta
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Deolarte-Melgarejo
authors.forename: F A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Rios-Montiel
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hernandez-Manzano