Role of Papinicolaou Smears in the Diagnosis of Premalignant and Malignant Lesions of the Cervix.

ABSTRACT

Cervical carcinoma is an important cause of morbidity and mortality among women worldwide and has been considered as one of the preventable cancers. Aim: To determine the prevalance of various lesions on cervical cytology and to study the clinicopathologic correlation of conventional Papanicoloau smears for the diagnosis of squamous intraepithelial lesion and invasive carcinoma using the Bethsda system for reporting cervical cytology. Material and method: The study included a retrospective reviewing of conventional cervical smears reported in the Department of pathology, Government medical College, Miraj over a period of six months from January 2012 to June 2012. Results: Epithelial cell abnormalities were found in 3% cases. Atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS) and atypical squamous cell- cannot exclude HSIL(ASC-H) was seen in 3(0.91%) cases each. Squamous intra-epithelial lesion was seen in 6(1.83%), out of which 2(0.61%) had low grade squamous intra-epithelial lesion(LSIL) exhibiting koilocytic atypia and 4(1.22%) had high grade squamous intra-epithelial lesion(HSIL). Invasive squamous cell carcinoma was seen in 4(1.22%) cases. The mean age of patients with LSIL was 43.4 years, and that with HSIL and invasive carcinoma was 53 years and 54 years, respectively. Conclusion: Cervical screening using Pap smear helps to detect premalignant and malignant cervical lesions at an early stage.