A group of 1064 patients seen at the gynecological clinic of the National Cancer Institute of Milan, have been taken into consideration. Vaginal smears of each patient were stained with the method of Papanicolaou and with acridine orange for microscopy fluorescence. The data obtained and the histological reports showed that the acridine orange fluorescence microscopy method is valid in selecting doubtful and positive cases of malignant tumors, provided the examination is performed by experienced cytologist. The method supplies on the whole results slightly more reliable than the Papanicolaou method but in some cases tha latter has proved superior to the former. Therefore, the best solution is to apply both methods contemporarily.
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