ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether the aspects of Pap smear affect cervical abnormality in our country. METHODS: We compared the sensitivity of Pap smear of 241 cases of pathologic proven CIN & invasive cancer, compared to that of 655 cases with normal cervical biopsy, and reviewed the history of the test of 138 cases, retrospectively. RESULTS: The sensitivity of the test was 89.6%, 92.7% in CIN & invasive cancer group, respectively, with 96.9% specificity. Among 241 cases, 138 cases were examined for the frequency of test during the 3 years with the result of 2.42, 2.17/3yr in CIN and invasive cancer. And distribution of the test was not different between the two groups. The mean intervals of last two Pap smear before diagnosing final pathology in CIN and cancer were 12.1, 13.7 months, respectively, with no statistical significance (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: We concluded that in our country the aspects of Pap smear such as frequency and interval do not influence the result of cervical abnormality, so recommend the annual Pap test as a screening.