Danazol is routinely administered orally to inhibit ovulation and to treat pelvic endometriosis. However, recent evidence suggests that danazol can act directly on endometriotic tissue in vitro to inhibit DNA synthesis and induce apoptosis. Danazol was administered via the vagina in this study, using a vaginal ring drug delivery system containing 1500 mg of danazol. This therapy was effective for treatment of pelvic endometriosis, especially for deeply infiltrating endometriosis, resulting in a cure of dysmenorrhoea and tenderness in the cul-de-sac within 3 months, and of induration or nodularity in the cul-de-sac within 7 months. Moreover, conception was possible during insertion of the vaginal ring in 17 out of 31 infertile women with deeply infiltrating endometriosis, and in two out of eight infertile women with ovarian endometriotic cysts not adhering to the cul-de-sac and without deeply infiltrating endometriosis. Serum danazol concentrations, high during oral daily 400 mg danazol therapy, but undetectable during vaginal danazol ring therapy, explain why ovulation and conception could occur during insertion of the vaginal danazol ring, and why general side-effects, which are often observed during oral danazol therapy, were not observed during vaginal danazol ring therapy. Danazol seems to be absorbed through the vaginal mucosa and reaches the deeply infiltrating endometriosis via diffusion.

CA-125 is abundantly secreted from ovarian endometriotic cysts, but is not specific to endometriosis. In order to develop a new, more specific diagnostic marker for endometriosis, the iron concentrations in various ovarian cysts were assayed. The ovarian cysts were punctured and the contents aspirated laparoscopically, laparotomically, or transvaginally. The iron concentration in the ovarian cystic fluid was assayed using a spectrophotometer after protein precipitations and chromogen treatment. The iron concentrations in ovarian cysts were 69.5 ± 10.4 µmol/l in serous cystadenomas, 73.5 ± 29.3 in mucinous cystadenomas, 65.4 ± 12.4 in dermoid cysts, and 92.5 ± 18.2 µmol/l in adenocarcinomas. On the other hand, high iron concentrations were demonstrated in endometriotic cysts (1,749.6 ± 41.5 µmol/l), a lutein cyst (1,393.8), hemorrhagic corpus luteum (1,957.5) and endometrioid adenocarcinomas (1,860.9 ± 157.9 µmol/l). Cytological smear tests of the contents as well as histological examination allowed differential diagnosis between endometriosis and endometrioid adenocarcinoma. In conclusion, assay of the ovarian cystic iron concentration is a useful diagnostic tool for the evaluation of ovarian endometriotic cysts.

The healing process in the microvasculature of cinchophen-induced acute gastric mucosal lesion was studied by the vascular corrosion casting method and conventional scanning electron microscopy. Thirty-six hours after cinchophen injection, prominent degeneration and exfoliation of surface mucous cells, along with exposure of the underlying connective tissue, were seen. The vascular casts showed leakage of resin and the occlusion of capillaries, which indicates breakage of the capillary network. One week after cinchophen injection, the denuded gastric mucosa was almost covered with surface mucous cells of irregular shape. The vascular casts showed signs of healing of the capillary network, including capillary neogenesis. The lesion was nearly healed by 2 to 3 weeks after cinchophen administration. Cinchophen induces the formation of acute gastric mucosal lesions that affect the surface mucous cells as well as the underlying vasculature. The subsequent healing process involves the regeneration of epithelial cells over the denuded areas and reconstruction of the underlying vascular network.

Two cases of colon cancer with a long segmental stenosis mimicking inflammatory bowel disease ORIGINAL ARTICLE Annals of Cancer Research and Therapy Colon cancer which represents a long segmental stenosis and has a cobblestone-like appearance is generally likely to be indistinguishable from inflammatory bowel disease. We treated two such cases in a 30-year-old woman and a 48-year-old man. The woman had a previous history of ulcerative colitis; she suffered from peritonitis due to a perforation of the sigmoid colon and underwent a simple closure of the perforation, a transverse colostomy and drainage. An enema

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