MDs Link Pill. Female Cancer

Three Harvard Medical School scientists are urging the Federal government to set up a national screening program to detect possible cancer in women whose mothers were given a hormone-like drug during pregnancy.

Dr. Arthur L. Herbst, '53. Assistant Clinical Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Dr. Howard Ulfelder, '32. Meigs Professor of Gynecology, and Dr. David C. Paskanzer '50. Associate Professor of Neurology reported the possible cancer link last April in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Their report indicated that administration of the drug--diethylstilbestrol (DES) appeared to cause a rare vaginal cancer years after in the daughters of women who had taken the drug to prevent miscarriage.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday that its analysis of that report and the 60 additional cases found since then have shown that the connection between the drug and the cancer is "statistically significant."

A spokesman for the agency indicated, however, that no decision has been made yet on a surveillance program.

In a statement released Wednesday, Herbst said "We feel the logical next step is to have the FDA undertake a national surveillance program of all young women in the at-risk population--those women whose mothers were given the drug."

He cited the action of the New York State Health Department in sending all 33,000 physicians in New York State a recommendation to examine and if necessary treat those young women affected, and called for a national extension of the warning.

DES is the same drug used as a "morning-after" pill to prevent conception after intercourse. The FDA conclusion, and a new warning against use in pregnancy, does not affect the contraceptive use since the problem area is in surviving children of women who take the drug during pregnancy.

Theoretically, there is a risk of unknown degree if a woman takes DES for contraception and if, for some reason, it fails and she becomes pregnant. However, the morning-after pill is given in far lower total dosage