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Among the group of 367 women with ovarian cancer, 11 prognostic factors were examined. Eight of the factors had an important prognostic value regarding the longterm (5 and 10 years) survivals of ovarian cancer patients. There were the following significant prognostic factors: histological type, the degree of differentiation of the tumour, clinical stage, ascites, overgrowth of the capsule, or infiltration of the ovary surface, irregular shape of the tumour, cancer in both ovaries, and solid type of the tumour. The best prognosis was obtained for patients with mucous type of cancer (53.3%-5 and 26.7%-10 years survival). The poorest prognosis was obtained for the group of patients with undifferentiated cancers, respectively, 11.8 and 3.6%.

Estrogen receptor (ER) and progestin receptor (PR) levels in the myometria and uterine leiomyomata of forty-four women were studied. A radio-ligand method and an immuno-enzymatic method were used for ER measurement, and only a radio-ligand method was used for PR measurement. The leiomyomata contained significantly more PR and estrogen-binding ER than their parental myometria but not the immunoreactive ER per mg of DNA. Nuclear extracts from the myometria contained a high amount of the estrogen-nonbinding immunoreactive ER; in the leiomyomata, the bulk of this particular ER fraction was extracted with cytosol. Dissimilar distribution patterns of immunoreactive, estrogen-nonbinding ER in leiomyomata and normal myometria suggest that an impaired metabolism of ER may contribute to myoma growth.

Estrogen receptor (ER) and progestin receptor (PR) levels in the myometria and uterine leiomyomata of 26 normally menstruating women were studied. No significant menstrual cycle-related change in ER level was found in the leiomyomata or normal myometria. The ER levels in normal myometria and in cellular leiomyomata, but not in usual leiomyomata, tended to be higher in the follicular phase than in the luteal one. The "cytosolic" PR levels in cellular leiomyomata and in usual leiomyomata with no or with slight hyalinization as well as in their parental myometria were significantly lower in the luteal than in the follicular phase. This was not the case in usual leiomyomata with more intense hyalinization. The findings show that the reactivity of uterine leiomyomata to estrogens and/or progestins may be related to the histological features of the tumors. This should be realized when studying the steroid receptor levels in the tumours and possibly also when planning an endocrine therapy for the leiomyomata.