Georgios Nicholas Papanikolaou (or
George Papanicolaou; ) (May 13, 1883–February 19, 1962) was born at
KimiKymi is an ancient city in Euboea, Greece; the modern town Kymi at the same location has a current population of 8,772 . The Bronze Age settlement at Kymi has been excavated nearby Mourteri...
on the island of
EviaFor the mythological figure, see Euboea Euboea is the second largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. It is separated from the mainland of Greece by the narrow Euripus Strait...
, in
GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
. He was a pioneer in
cytologyCytology means "the study of cells".Cytology is that branch of life science, which deals with the study of cells in terms of structure, function and chemistry.Based on usage it can refer to:...
and early cancer detection.
He studied at the University of Athens where he received his medical degree in 1904. Six years later he received his Ph.D. from the University of
MunichMunich is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. It is located on the River Isar north of the Bavarian Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg...
,
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
after he had also spent time at the universities of Jena and
FreiburgThe University of Freiburg , sometimes referred to in English as the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.The university was founded in 1457 by the Hapsburg dynasty as the second university in...
.
Georgios Nicholas Papanikolaou (or
George Papanicolaou; ) (May 13, 1883–February 19, 1962) was born at
KimiKymi is an ancient city in Euboea, Greece; the modern town Kymi at the same location has a current population of 8,772 . The Bronze Age settlement at Kymi has been excavated nearby Mourteri...
on the island of
EviaFor the mythological figure, see Euboea Euboea is the second largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. It is separated from the mainland of Greece by the narrow Euripus Strait...
, in
GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
. He was a pioneer in
cytologyCytology means "the study of cells".Cytology is that branch of life science, which deals with the study of cells in terms of structure, function and chemistry.Based on usage it can refer to:...
and early cancer detection.
He studied at the University of Athens where he received his medical degree in 1904. Six years later he received his Ph.D. from the University of
MunichMunich is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. It is located on the River Isar north of the Bavarian Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg...
,
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
after he had also spent time at the universities of Jena and
FreiburgThe University of Freiburg , sometimes referred to in English as the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.The university was founded in 1457 by the Hapsburg dynasty as the second university in...
. In 1913 he emigrated to the U.S. in order to work in the department of
PathologyPathology is the study and diagnosis of disease through examination of organs, tissues, bodily fluids, and whole bodies...
of New York Hospital and the Department of
AnatomyAnatomy is a branch of biology and medicine that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy and plant anatomy...
at the Weill Medical College of
Cornell UniversityCornell University is a private university located in Ithaca, New York, USA, that is a member of the Ivy League.Cornell counts more than 255,000 living alumni, 28 Rhodes Scholars and 41 Nobel laureates affiliated with the university as faculty or students...
. He first reported that uterine cancer could be diagnosed by means of a vaginal smear in 1928, but the importance of his work was not recognized until the publication, together with Herbert Traut, of 'Diagnosis of Uterine Cancer by the Vaginal Smear' in 1943. The book discusses the preparation of the vaginal and cervical smear, physiologic cytologic changes during the
menstrual cycleThe menstrual cycle is a cycle of physiological changes that occurs in fertile females. Overt menstruation occurs primarily in humans and close evolutionary relatives such as chimpanzees...
, effect of various pathological conditions, and the changes seen in the presence of
cancerCancer is a class of diseases in which a group of cells display uncontrolled growth , invasion , and sometimes metastasis...
of the
cervixThe cervix is the lower, narrow portion of the uterus where it joins with the top end of the vagina. It is cylindrical or conical in shape and protrudes through the upper anterior vaginal wall. Approximately half its length is visible with appropriate medical equipment; the remainder lies above...
and the
endometrium-Function:The endometrium functions as a lining for the uterus, preventing adhesions between the opposed walls of the myometrium, thereby maintaining the patency of the uterine cavity. During the menstrual cycle or estrous cycle, the endometrium grows to a thick, blood vessel-rich, glandular tissue...
of the
uterusThe uterus is a major female hormone-responsive reproductive sex organ of most mammals, including humans. It is within the uterus that the fetus develops during gestation. The term uterus is used consistently within the medical and related professions; the Germanic term, womb is more common in...
. He thus became known for his invention of Papanicolaou's test, now known as the
Pap smearThe Papanicolaou test is a screening test used in gynecology to detect premalignant and malignant processes in the ectocervix. Significant changes can be treated, thus preventing cervical cancer. The test was invented by and named after the prominent Greek doctor Georgios Papanikolaou...
or Pap test, which is used worldwide for the detection and prevention of
cervical cancerCervical cancer is malignant neoplasm of the cervix uteri or cervical area. It may present with vaginal bleeding but symptoms may be absent until the cancer is in its advanced stages...
and other cytologic diseases of the female
reproductive systemThe reproductive system is a system of organs within an organism which work together for the purpose of reproduction. Many non-living substances such as fluids, hormones, and pheromones are also important accessories to the reproductive system. Unlike most organ systems, the sexes of differentiated...
.
In 1961 he moved to Miami to develop the Papanicolaou Cancer Research Institute at the
University of MiamiThe University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 in the city of Coral Gables, Florida within Miami-Dade County...
, but died in 1962 prior to its opening.
Dr. Papanicolaou was the recipient of the
Albert Lasker Award for Clinical Medical ResearchThe Lasker~DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award is awarded by the Lasker Foundation for the understanding, diagnosis, prevention, treatment, and cure of disease. The award was renamed in 2008 in honor of Michael E. DeBakey. It was previously known as the Albert Lasker Award for Clinical Medical...
in 1950.
Papanikolaou's portrait was depicted on the
obverseThe term, obverse, and its opposite, reverse, describe the two sides of units of currency and many other kinds of two-sided objects - most often in reference to coins, but also to paper currency, flags , medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics...
of the Greek 10,000
drachmasDrachma, pl. drachmas or drachmae is the name of the currency used in Greece during several periods in its history:...
banknote of 1995-2001, prior to its replacement by the
EuroThe euro is the official currency of 16 of the 27 Member States of the European Union . The states, known collectively as the Eurozone, are Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain...
.
Scientific discoveries
The fact that malignant cells could be seen under the microscope was first pointed out in a book on diseases of the lung, written by Walter Hayle Walshe (1812-1892), professor and physician to University College Hospital, London, in 1843. This fact was recounted by Papanikolaou.
In 1923, Papanikolaou told an incredulous audience of physicians about the technique of gathering cellular debris from the lining of the vaginal tract and smearing it on a glass slide for microscopic examination as a way to identify cervical cancer. That year he had undertaken a study of vaginal fluid in women, in hopes of observing cellular changes over the course of a menstrual cycle. In female guinea pigs, Papanicolaou had already noticed cell transformation and wanted to corroborate the phenomenon in human females. It happened that one of Papanicolaou's human subjects was suffering from uterine cancer.
Upon examination of a slide made from a smear of the patient's vaginal fluid, Papanicolaou discovered that abnormal cancer cells could be plainly observed under a microscope. "The first observation of cancer cells in the smear of the uterine cervix," he later wrote, "gave me one of the greatest thrills I ever experienced during my scientific career."
Dr.
Aurel BabeşAurel Babeş was a Romanian scientist and one of the discoverers of the vaginal smear as screening test for cervical cancer. He was the nephew of Victor Babeş, co-author of the first treaty of bacteriology.-Scientific discoveries:...
, of Romania, made similar discoveries in the cytologic diagnosis of cervical cancer. Babeş's 1927 work, however, was published in the
Proceedings of the Bucharest Gynecological Society, and it is unlikely that Papanicolaou was aware of it.
At a 1928 medical conference in Battle Creek, Michigan, Papanicolaou introduced his low-cost, easily performed screening test for early detection of the cancerous and precancerous cells. However, this potential medical breakthrough was initially met with scepticism and resistance from the scientific community. Papanicolaou's next communication on the subject did not appear until 1941 when, with gynecologist Herbert Traut, he published a paper on the diagnostic value of vaginal smears in
carcinoma of the uterusThe term uterine cancer may refer to any of several different types of cancer which occur in the uterus, namely:*Uterine sarcomas: sarcomas of the myometrium, or muscular layer of the uterus, are most commonly leiomyosarcomas.*Endometrial cancer:...
. This was followed 2 years later by an illustrated monograph based on a study of over 3000 cases.In 1954 he published another memorable work , The Atlas of Exfoliative Cytology, thus cretating the foundations for the modern specialty of
CytopathologyCytopathology is a branch of pathology that studies and diagnoses diseases on the cellular level. The discipline was founded by Rudolf Virchow in 1858...
.
External links