Adenocarcinoma of the vagina. Association of maternal stilbestrol therapy with tumor appearance in young women.

Although cancer of the vagina is rare and occurs principally in women over age 50 in the form of epidermoid carcinoma 8 girls (15-22) between 1966 and 1969 with adenocarcinoma of the vagina (clear-cell or endometrial) were seen at 2 Boston hospitals. The 4 controls (female) for each case were born within 5 days of the patient and on the same type of service (ward or private). The association between treatment of the mothers (7 or 8) with estrogen diethylstilbestrol during the pregnancies and the development of adenocarcinoma of the vagina in the girls is highly significant (p less than 0.00001). All 7 mothers began therapy in the first trimester and received either a constant dose administered to term or a continually increasing dose given almost to term. Other factors with lower levels of significance are maternal bleeding in the study pregnancy (p less than 0.05) and any prior pregnancy loss (p less than 0.01). Non-significant factors include maternal age at time of birth smoking in parents intrauterine x-ray exposure and breast feeding.