FHIT and cancer: In this study, we considered that CIN1* lesions should indicate a greater potential for progression because there is good evidence to suggest that co-existing lesions, even when topographically distinct, could have a common origin and could be under the influence of the same ‘field’ effect (Larson et al, 1977; Park et al, 1998) and abnormal FHIT protein expression has been found to occur more frequently in CIN2/3 lesions co-existing with cancer (Connolly et al, 2000).