Georgios Papanikolaou

Georgios Nikolaou Papanikolaou (or George Papanicolaou ; el, Γεώργιος Ν. Παπανικολάου ; 13 May 1883 – 19 February 1962) was a Greek physician who was a pioneer in cytopathology and early cancer detection, and inventor of the "Pap smear".

After studying medicine in Greece and Germany, he emigrated in 1913 to the United States. He first reported that uterine cancer cells could be detected in vaginal smears in 1928, but his work was not widely recognized until the 1940s. An extensive trial of his techniques was carried out in the early 1950s. In 1961, he was invited to the University of Miami to lead and develop the Papanicolaou Cancer Research Institute there.

Life

Born in Kymi, Greece, Papanikolaou attended the University of Athens, where he studied literature, philosophy, languages and music. Urged by his father, he pursued a medical degree, which he received in 1904. Afterwards, he was conscripted into military service. When his obligation ended in 1906, he returned to Kymi to practice medicine with his father. In 1907, he began studying in Germany under Ernst Haeckel at the University of Jena for one semester before moving to University of Freiburg, where he was supervised by August Weismann. Again he left after one semester, this time to join University of Munich, from which he graduated with a doctoral degree in zoology in 1910. Afterwards, Papanikolaou returned to Athens and married Andromachi Mavrogeni, who later became his laboratory assistant and research subject. He then departed for Monaco, where he worked for the Oceanographic Institute of Monaco, participating in the Oceanographic Exploration Team of Prince Albert I of Monaco (1911).

In 1913, he emigrated to the United States in order to work in the department of Pathology of New York Hospital and the Department of Anatomy at the Cornell Medical College of Cornell University.

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 F. Traut (1894–1963), of ''Diagnosis of Uterine Cancer by the Vaginal Smear'' in 1943. The book discusses the preparation of vaginal and cervical smears, physiologic cytologic changes during the menstrual cycle, the effects of various pathological conditions, and the changes seen in the presence of cancer of the cervix and of the endometrium of the uterus. He thus became known for his invention of the Papanicolaou test, commonly known as the Pap smear or Pap test, which is used worldwide for the detection and prevention of cervical cancer and other cytologic diseases of the female reproductive system.

Papanicolaou was the recipient of the Albert Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research in 1950.

In 1961, he moved to Miami, Florida, to develop the Papanicolaou Cancer Research Institute at the University of Miami, but died there on 19 February 1962 prior to its opening. His wife Andromachi "Mary" Papanikolaou continued his work at the Papanicolaou Cancer Research Institute after his death, and died in Miami in October 1982.

Discoveries

That malignant cells could be seen under the microscope was first pointed out in a book on diseases of the lung, by Walter Hayle Walshe (1812–92), professor and physician to University College Hospital, London, in 1843. This fact was recounted by Papanikolaou.

In 1928, Papanikolaou told an incredulous audience of physicians about the noninvasive 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."

The Romanian physician Aurel Babeș made similar discoveries in the cytologic diagnosis of cervical cancer. O'Dowd Michael J., Philipp Elliot E. ''The History of Obstetrics & Gynaecology''. London: Parthenon Publishing Group; 1994: 547 He discovered that if a platinum loop was used to collect cells from a woman's cervix, and the cells were then dried on a slide and stained, it could be determined if cancer cells were present. This was the first screening test to diagnose cervical and uterine cancer. Babeș presented his findings to the Romanian Society of Gynaecology in Bucharest on 23 January 1927. His method of cancer diagnosis was published in a French medical journal, La Presse Médicale, on 11 April 1928, but it is unlikely that Papanicolaou was aware of it. Moreover, the two techniques are different in their design. Therefore, although Babeș's publication preceded Papanicolaou's, the design of the Pap test belongs to Papanicolaou since he had already tried it in 1925 in "Women's Hospital". Recent papers have proven that Babeș's method was different from Papanicolaou's and that the paternity of the Pap test belongs solely to Papanicolaou. Despite this, Elliot Philipp and other specialists believe that Babeș was the true pioneer in the cytologic diagnosis of cervical cancer, and in a spirit of recognition and fairness, in Romania, cervical testing is referred to as the ''Méthode Babeș-Papanicolaou'' in honor of Babeș.

At a 1928 medical conference in Battle Creek, Michigan, Papanicolaou introduced his low-cost, easily performed screening test for early detection of cancerous and precancerous cells. However, this potential medical breakthrough was initially met with skepticism and resistance from the medical 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 uterus. This was followed two years later by an illustrated monograph based on a study of over 3,000 cases. In 1954, he published another memorable work, the ''Atlas of Exfoliative Cytology'', thus creating the foundation of the modern medical specialty of cytopathology.

Commemorations

In 1978, Papanikolaou's work was honored by the U.S. Postal Service with a 13-cent stamp for early cancer detection.

Between 1995 and 2001, his portrait appeared on the obverse of the Greek ₯10,000 banknote, until its replacement by the euro.

On 13 May 2019, the 136th anniversary of his birth, a Google Doodle featuring Papanikolaou was shown in North America, parts of South America, and parts of Europe and Israel.

References

External links

*.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Papanikolaou, Georgios
1883 births
1962 deaths
People from Euboea (regional unit)
Greek oncologists
Greek pathologists
Cytopathologists
Greek inventors
Members of the Academy of Athens (modern)
Recipients of the Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens alumni
University of Jena alumni
University of Freiburg alumni
Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni
Weill Medical College of Cornell University faculty
NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital physicians
University of Miami faculty
Greek emigrants to the United States
20th-century Greek physicians
20th-century inventors
19th-century Greek Americans