[Progestogen tests after the menopause]

There is virtually no screening for endometrial cancer after the menopause. The methods so-far available (cervico-vaginal smear or endouterine specimens) are either unreliable or else difficult to perform. The progestogen tests are, in contrast, easy for any doctor to carry out, acceptable to patients, fairly reliable and low cost, which should make their widespread use possible. The administration of a progestogen to a post-menopausal woman should not produce bleeding unless the endometrium is hyperplasic or proliferative. 1 366 tests of this type were carried out and resulted, amongst other discoveries, in the detection of 5 cases of asymptomatic cancers of the endometrium and 2 cases of ovarian cancer.