Manual liquid based cytology in primary screening for cervical cancer--a cost effective preposition for scarce resource settings

Cost-effectiveness analysis of alternative screening strategies for the detection of cervical cancer among women in rural areas of Western Kenya

While the incidence of cervical cancer has dropped in high-income countries due to organized cytology-based screening programs, it remains the leading cause of cancer death among women in Eastern Africa. Therefore, the World Health Organization (WHO) now urges providers to transition from widely prevalent but low-performance visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) screening to primary human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA testing. Due to high HPV prevalence, effective triage tests are needed to identify those lesions likely to progress and so avoid over-treatment. To identify the optimal cost-effective strategy, we compared the VIA screen-and-treat approach to primary HPV DNA testing with p16/Ki67 dual-stain cytology or VIA as triage. We used a Markov model to calculate the budget impact of each strategy with incremental quality-adjusted life years and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICER) as the main outcome. Deterministic cost-effectiveness analyses show that the screen-and-treat approach is highly cost-effective (ICER 2469 Int$), while screen, triage, and treat with dual staining is the most effective with favorable ICER than triage with VIA (ICER 9943 Int$ compared with 13,177 Int$). One-way sensitivity analyses show that the results are most sensitive to discounting, VIA performance, and test prices. In the probabilistic sensitivity analyses, the triage option using dual stain is the optimal choice above a willingness to pay threshold of 7115 Int$ being cost-effective as per WHO standards. The result of our analysis favors the use of dual staining over VIA as triage in HPV-positive women and portends future opportunities and necessary research to improve the coverage and acceptability of cervical cancer screening programs.

Should Liquid-Based Cytology (LBC) be Preferred than Conventional Pap Smear (CPS): A Comparative Analysis

Objectives

To study the cytomorphological differences of both techniques and to study the relative advantages and limitations of both techniques.

Materials

A total of five hundred cases were collected. The conventional Pap smears (CPS) were prepared with cytobrush, and the same brush head was suspended in LBC vial and processed by SurePath.

Results

Of the 500 cases studied, the age ranged from 21 to 80 years with a mean of 40.02. The number of satisfactory smears in CPS and LBC was 490 and 496 cases, respectively. In conventional method, 417 cases (83.4%) and LBC 430 cases (86.0%) were inflammatory smears. The number of LSIL was 18 in conventional method and 15 in LBC. HSIL was 11 in CPS and 10 in LBC, and 8 squamous cell carcinoma cases were seen in LBC. Histopathological correlation was observed in 19 cases of which LBC showed sensitivity and specificity of 100%.

Conclusion

LBC may be considered better than conventional Pap smear due to better adequacy, clarity of background, detection of infections and increased sensitivity and specificity in detecting LSIL and HSIL.

Comparison of primary cytology, primary HPV testing and co-testing as cervical cancer screening for Chinese women: a population-based screening cohort

OBJECTIVES

We compared clinical performance of three strategies of primary human papillomavirus (HPV) testing, primary cytology and co-testing for cervical cancer screening.

DESIGN

A population-based prospective cohort study of clinical performance of screening strategy.

SETTING

Patients recruited from community in Changzhi County, Shanxi Province, China.

PATIENT

3209 women aged 30-64 years without gynaecological issues.

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES

The performance of different screening strategies for detecting cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 or more severe (CIN2+).

RESULTS

A total of 53 CIN2+ and 31 CIN3+ cases are detected. For CIN2+, sensitivity of primary HPV (95.9%) and co-testing (98.0%) are not statistically different, but significantly higher than primary cytology (48.0%). Specificity (86.8%), colposcopy referral rate (7.8%) and number of colposcopies required to detect one case (9.8) for primary HPV are better than co-testing (79.8%, 11.9%, 14.3%, respectively). For CIN3+, primary HPV, co-testing have 100% of sensitivity and specificity, which is significantly higher than primary cytology (56.7% and 90.2%). Number of colposcopies required to detect one case for primary HPV (15.9) is better than co-testing (23.8).

CONCLUSIONS

Compared with co-testing, HPV primary screening had comparable sensitivity and higher specificity for CIN2+ detection, and both of them showed better performance than cytology primary screening in cervical cancer screening.

Liquid-Based Cytology in the Detection of Premalignant Lesions in Patients with "Atypia in Squamous Cells" in Conventional Cytology

Background

The management of patients with "Atypical Squamous Cells" (ASC) in conventional papanicolaou smears (CPS) is based on the risk of high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL). The efficacy of liquid-based cytology (LBC) to detect this premalignant lesion is variable, with little evidence of its performance in Colombian patients.

Aims

The aim of this study is to determine the performance of LBC in the detection of premalignant lesions, in patients with ASC in CPS.

Materials and Methods

Were obtained patients who attended colposcopy clinic due the result of ASC in CPS. An LBC was taken, which was interpreted by two pathologists without access to other results. The performance of LBC to detect HSIL, was determined, considering as a gold standard: histopathological study/negative-satisfactory colposcopy.

Results

Were included 114 patients, with a mean age of 38.4 years (SD ± 13.3). LBC had abnormal results in 40.36% (n = 46), with a slightly higher proportion of low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL) than HSIL. The total of abnormal diagnoses by colposcopy and/or biopsy was 51.75% (n = 59), with a predominance of LSIL (36.84%). The sensitivity of the liquid-based cytology to detect premalignant lesions was 76.5%, specificity: 66.0%, positive predictive value: 28.3% and negative predictive value: 94.1%; The Cohen's kappa index of LBC for detecting HSIL was 0.2492 for the total population and 0.2907 for ≥30 years.

Discussion

Although LBC decreases abnormal cytology and increases the detection of HSIL, which improves diagnostic accuracy; sensitivity and predictive values for detecting HSIL are not significantly different between CPS and LBC.

Perceptions and attitude of women of Luderitz, Namibia on Pap smear and cervical cancer prevention

BACKGROUND

Cervical cancer is one of the leading malignancies globally and has taken third place in Namibia amongst women aged 15-44 years. Infection with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) has been proven to increase women's susceptibility to developing cervical carcinoma. Sadly, Namibia carries a twin burden of HIV and cervical cancer. Namibians are aware of HIV/AIDS, but remain poorly informed about cervical cancer. Furthermore, among those who are aware of the disease, low utilisation of screening tests have been reported.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose was to explore perceptions and attitudes held by women about cervical cancer, reasons for low uptake of Pap smear testing amongst those who are aware of the malignancy as well as unearth motivation factors that has fuelled women to go for screening.

METHODOLOGY

A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted using convenience sampling as a sampling technique. The survey instrument used was a self-administered questionnaire. It consisted of both closed and open ended questions. A total of 136 women were surveyed.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSION

The level of awareness for cervical cancer (92.6%) and Pap smear (93.4%) were high. Most were able to identify that Pap smear test is used for screening for pre-cancerous lesions. However, knowledge about the impact of a HIV positive status along with co infection with HPV as the leading causes for progression of invasive cervical carcinoma was not well known. Knowledge about the other risk factors such as multiple sexual partners (39.7%), early sex debut (34.9%) and smoking was poorly demonstrated. This suggests that a high awareness level does not necessarily translate into having a good perception or understanding of a disease. A good attitude towards screening was observed although less than half of the study population reported ever having a test done.

Quantitative analysis of abnormalities in gynecologic cytopathology with deep learning

Cervical cancer is one of the most frequent cancers in women worldwide, yet the early detection and treatment of lesions via regular cervical screening have led to a drastic reduction in the mortality rate. However, the routine examination of screening as a regular health checkup of women is characterized as time-consuming and labor-intensive, while there is lack of characteristic phenotypic profile and quantitative analysis. In this research, over the analysis of a privately collected and manually annotated dataset of 130 cytological whole-slide images, the authors proposed a deep-learning diagnostic system to localize, grade, and quantify squamous cell abnormalities. The system can distinguish abnormalities at the morphology level, namely atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance, low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion, high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion, and squamous cell carcinoma, as well as differential phenotypes of normal cells. The case study covered 51 positive and 79 negative digital gynecologic cytology slides collected from 2016 to 2018. Our automatic diagnostic system demonstrated its sensitivity of 100% at slide-level abnormality prediction, with the confirmation with three pathologists who performed slide-level diagnosis and training sample annotations. In the cellular-level classification, we yielded an accuracy of 94.5% in the binary classification between normality and abnormality, and the AUC was above 85% for each subtype of epithelial abnormality. Although the final confirmation from pathologists is often a must, empirically, computer-aided methods are capable of the effective extraction, interpretation, and quantification of morphological features, while also making it more objective and reproducible.

Comparative evaluation of conventional cytology and a low-cost liquid-based cytology technique, EziPREP™, for cervicovaginal smear reporting: A split sample study

BACKGROUND

Liquid-based cytology (LBC) for cervical cancer screening offers several advantages over conventional cytology. However, the extremely high cost of the current approved devices precludes widespread application of LBC technique in resource-constrained countries. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of an indigenous low-cost LBC technique, EziPREP™ (EP), against conventional preparations (CPs) for cervical cancer screening.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A cross-sectional split-sample study with consecutive cervical sampling was conducted on 515 women attending the clinic at our institute. CP smears were prepared as per the standard technique using spatula and endocervical brush followed by detaching the head of brush into the fixative vial of EP. The EP samples were processed as per the manufacturer's protocol. Both CP and EP smears were stained using standard Papanicolaou stain protocol. Both sets of smears were evaluated for staining quality, morphologic details, and cytologic diagnoses. Cytologic diagnoses were correlated with cervical biopsy findings, wherever available. Performance characteristics of the two techniques were calculated.

RESULTS

The unsatisfactory rate for CP was 1.0%, while on EP, 1.3% smears had inadequate cellular material. The staining quality and morphological details were comparable in both sets of smears. The detection of infections and epithelial cell abnormality was more, though not statistically significant in EP smears. There was a 98% concordance in cytologic diagnosis between CP and EP smears. Cytohistologic concordance was observed in 96% of cases for both CP and EP smears. Although the time taken for processing and staining of smears was higher for EP (2.5 min for EP per smear and 1.6 min for CP per smear), the screening time reduced from 6.5 min per smear for CP to 2.2 min in EP smears.

CONCLUSION

EP provides monolayered cervical smears with vivid morphological details, leading to reduced screening time and relatively higher pick-up of infections and low-grade cervical lesions as compared to conventional smears. The availability of such low-cost devices may enable wider application of cytology-based cervical cancer screening in low-resource countries.

Comparative study between liquid-based cytology & conventional Pap smear for cytological follow up of treated patients of cancer cervix

Background & objectives:

Cancer cervix is one of the most common forms of genital malignancy among Indian women. Recurrence is seen in a significant number of cases. The conventional cervical smear technique has inherent problems and screening and interpretation errors. This study was undertaken to assess the efficacy of liquid-based cytology (LBC) as a method for cytological follow up and detection of recurrence in treated cases of cancer cervix and to compare it with conventional Pap smear technique to find the best screening method for detection of recurrence in these patients.

Methods:

This cross-sectional study was conducted over a period of one year. Patients attending Gynecology and Radiotherapy outpatient departments for follow up after treatment of cancer cervix were included. Pap smear and LBC were taken in all cases. Colposcopy and biopsy were done for those having epithelial cell abnormality in cytology report. Colposcopy and biopsy were taken as gold standard for diagnosis of cancer cervix recurrence.

Results:

Ninety four treated patients of carcinoma cervix were studied. The diagnostic accuracy for detection of recurrence of conventional Pap smear was 79.16 per cent, and that of LBC was 97.6 per cent. The difference between the two methods was significant (P<0.001).

Interpretation & conclusions:

Our findings showed that LBC performed better than the conventional method of cytology to detect recurrence of squamous cell carcinoma. Its sensitivity, specificity as well as accuracy were much higher than conventional method. LBC can be a better method of cytological follow up of post-treated patients of cancer cervix.

Comparative Analysis of Modified Liquid-Based Cytology and CytoRich Red Preparation in Assessment of Serous Effusion for Cancer Diagnosis

Objective: We aimed to compare the cytomorphological diagnosis in serous effusion and quality of background between modified liquid-based cytology (modified-LBC) and CytoRich Red (CRR) preservative. Methods: We used an experimental study design: 110 fresh serous effusions were received from 50 cases negative for malignant effusions and 60 cases positive for malignant effusions. All fresh serous effusions were processed using both the CRR solution and the modified-LBC preparation. Blind sample slides were interpreted for cytomorphological diagnosis and the quality of background by 2 cytotechnologists. Result: All cases had the same diagnosis irrespective of the method. There was no statistically significant difference in the cytological diagnosis between the CRR and modified-LBC preparations (p>0.999). The quality of the background smear for the CRR preparation was clean (54%), moderate in 42%, and poor in 4%. By comparison, the modified-LBC preparation was clean in 46%, moderate in 47%, and poor in 7%. The difference between the quality of background smears between the two methods was not statistically significant (p= 0.527). Conclusion: There was no statistically significant difference in the diagnosis or quality of background between CRR and modified-LBC preparations. The serous effusion specimen prepared by modified-LBC solution was less expensive than CRR. The modified-LBC could be an alternative preparation when commercial preparations are too expensive.

Prevalence of high-risk human papilloma virus types and cervical smear abnormalities in female sex workers in Chandigarh, India

PURPOSE

Cervical cancer is the most common cancer among women in developing nations. Nearly 90% of the cases have been linked to the presence of high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) types 16 and 18. The risk of cervical cancer may be high in female sex workers (FSWs) due to multiple sexual partners. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of cytological abnormalities and hrHPV types 16 and 18 in FSWs in Chandigarh, North India using the liquid-based cytology (LBC) approach.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The cervical brush samples were collected from 120 FSW and 98 age-matched healthy controls (HCs). These were subjected to pap smear using conventional method, LBC and the detection of hrHPV types 16 and 18 was carried out using polymerase chain reaction.

RESULTS

The LBC samples showed better cytological details and also reduced the number of unsatisfactory smears from 11% in Pap to 1.5% in the LBC. A significantly higher number of inflammatory smears were reported in FSWs (51.7% vs. 34.7%, P = 0.01). The hrHPV types 16/18 were detected in 33/120 (27.5%) FSW versus 23/98 (23.5%) HCs. The risk of acquiring hrHPV was higher in FSWs, who had age at first sex ≤25 years, higher income and the habit of smoking.

CONCLUSION

The high prevalence of hrHPV among FSWs and HCs suggests the need for the implementation of effective National Screening Programme for early detection of hrHPV types to decrease the burden of cervical cancer, especially in high-risk population.

A comparative analysis of conventional and SurePath liquid-based cervicovaginal cytology: A study of 140 cases

Background:

The role of Papanicolaou (Pap) test in cervical cancer screening need not be overemphasized. While most Western countries have adopted the liquid-based cytology (LBC), which is considered superior, many developing countries are still using the conventional Pap smear (CPS) technique.

Objective:

To compare the staining and cytomorphological features on conventional versus liquid-based cervicovaginal smears.

Materials and Methods:

One hundred and forty cervicovaginal smears prepared by the standard conventional and LBC techniques were interpreted as per the Bethesda system of reporting cervicovaginal smears. Twelve parameters were studied, compared, and statistically analyzed. A P value <0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.

Results:

129/140 (92%) of CPSs and 130/140 (93%) LBC smears were satisfactory. LBC had a significantly shorter screening time (2.0 ± 0.08 vs 4.0 ± 0.65) and better representative material than that of CPS (50% vs 42%). Neutrophils were significantly more in CPS than LBC (96% vs 92%) with a P value <0.05 while hemorrhagic background and red blood cells (RBCs) were more prominent in CPS. LBC showed significant artifactual changes in squamous epithelial cells. Epithelial abnormalities ranging from atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS) to high grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL) were seen in 3% (4) and 2% (2) of CPSs and LBCs, respectively. Organisms were better picked up in CPS (99% in CPS vs 73% LBC) with a value of P = 0.0001.

Conclusion:

Although a shorter screening time and cleaner background are the major advantages of LBC, CPS is not inferior to LBC. Considering the high cost, rather than the advantages associated with LBC, we feel that CPS is a better option for developing countries.

Serum miRNAs panel (miR-16-2*, miR-195, miR-2861, miR-497) as novel non-invasive biomarkers for detection of cervical cancer

miRNAs have been established as critical layer of regulation during tumorigenesis; extracellular miRNAs are extraordinarily stable; and, quantitative reverse transcript polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) provides a sensitive platform for quantifying miRNAs with a broad dynamic range. Herein, we aimed to establish a serum miRNA signature for diagnosing cervical cancer (CC). In this study, we recruited a cohort of 184 CC, 186 cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) patients and 193 healthy control subjects. qRT-PCR was performed with serum samples to screen a pool of 444 miRNAs at the initial phase, 66 miRNAs at the training phase, and 7 miRNAs at the validation phase. The profile of 4 circulating miRNAs (miR-16-2*, miR-195, miR-2861, miR-497) was established for CC diagnosis. By Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, this 4-miRNA signature showed high accuracy in discriminating CC (AUC = 0.849), and CIN individuals (AUC = 0.734) from healthy controls. Among these 4 miRNAs, only miR-16-2*, but not miR-195, miR-2861 or miR497, shared a similar pattern in sera of breast cancer and ovarian cancer patients. Overall, our studies have identified a novel noninvasive biomarker constituted with a panel of four miRNAs (miR-16-2*, miR-195, miR-2861, miR-497).

Manual liquid based cytology for Pap smear preparation and HPV detection by PCR in Pakistan

This study was conducted on female patients with different gynecological problems attending the gynecology out-patient departments of two tertiary care hospitals in Peshawar city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan between August 2012 and October 2013. The 200 patients had an age range of 21-65 years. Smears were taken with cervical brushes and preserved in preservative medium and processed for manual liquid based cytology (MLBC) for Pap staining. Out of 200 collected samples, 30 samples were found inadequate on cytology. Of the remaining 170 samples, 164 (96.47%) were normal, 5 (2.94%) were of atypical squamous cells of unknown significance (ASCUS) and 1 (0.6%) was of high grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL). On PCR all the samples were positive for beta globin gene fragment including those reported inadequate on cytology. Out of the 5 ASCUS samples, 2 samples were positive for HPV, one each for HPV 16 and HPV 18, and the rest of the 3 samples were negative for HPV DNA. The 1 sample of HSIL was positive for HPV 16 on PCR. Out of 164 normal samples on cytology, only 1 sample was HPV 16 positive. So overall, 4 (2%) out of 200 samples were positive for HPV DNA, where 3 were HPV 16 (1.5%), and 1 was HPV 18 (0.5%) positive, and thus the ratio of infection with of HPV 16 to HPV 18 was 3:1 in the general population. In conclusion, PCR based HPV detection is a more sensitive method for screening of HPV infection than cytology as sample inadequacy does not affect the results. However, it can be combined with cytology methods in a HPV positive female to achieve the maximum results.

Electrical Bioimpedance Analysis: A New Method in Cervical Cancer Screening

Cervical cancer is the second most common female cancer worldwide and a disease of concern due to its high rate of incidence of about 500,000 women annually and is responsible for about 280,000 deaths in a year. The mortality and morbidity of cervical cancer are reduced through mass screening via Pap smear, but this technique suffers from very high false negativity of around 30% to 40% and hence the sensitivity of this technique is not more than 60%. Electrical bioimpedance study employing cytosensors over a frequency range offers instantaneous and quantitative means to monitor cellular events and is an upcoming technique in real time to classify cells as normal and abnormal ones. This technology is exploited for label-free detection of diseases by identifying and measuring nonbiological parameters of the cell which may carry the disease signature.

HPV genotyping linear assay test comparison in cervical cancer patients: implications for HPV prevalence and molecular epidemiology in a limited-resource area in Bandung, Indonesia

BACKGROUND

Persistent infection with high risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) is strongly associated with cervical cancer. Normal cervical cells may also harbor hrHPV, and detection of early hrHPV infection may minimize risk of cervical cancer development. This study aimed to compare two commercial HPV genotyping assays that may affordable for early screening in a limited-resource setting in Bandung, Indonesia.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

DNA from cervical biopsies with histologically confirmed as squamous cell cervical cacinoma were HPV genotyped by Linear Assay 1 (Roche Diagnostics, Mannheim, Germany) or Linear Assay 2 (Digene HPV Genotyping RH Test, Qiagen Gaithersburg, MD). In a subset of samples of each group, HPV genotype results were then compared.

RESULTS

Of 28 samples genotyped by linear assay 1, 22 (78.6%) demonstrated multiple infections with HPV-16 and other hrHPV types 18, 45 and/or 52. In another set of 38 samples genotyped by linear assay 2, 28 (68.4%) were mostly single infections by hrHPV type 16 or 18. Interestingly, 4 samples that had been tested by both kits showed discordant results.

CONCLUSIONS

In a limited-resource area such as in Indonesia, country with a high prevalence of HPV infection a reliable cervical screening test in general population for early hrHPV detection is needed. Geographical variation in HPV genotyping result might have impacts for HPV prevalence and molecular epidemiology as the distribution in HPV genotypes should give clear information to assess the impact of HPV prophylactic vaccines.

Comparison of cervical cell morphology using two different cytology techniques for early detection of pre-cancerous lesions

Cervical cancer is an issue of foremost importance globally, specifically affecting the developing nations. Significant advances have taken place with regard to diagnosis of cervical cancer, especially with screening. Appropriate screening measures can thus reduce the incidence of cervical cancer. The most desirable screening technique should be less invasive, easy to perform, cost-effective and cover a wide range of diagnostic icons. Manual liquid based cytology (MLBC) can be considered as one of the suitable technique for screening with the above-mentioned benefits. The aim of the current study was to compare two cervical screening techniques on the basis of different morphological parameters and staining parameters by using modified acetic acid Pap staining to see the possibility of reducing time economy involved in conventional Pap staining (CPS). The study was conducted on a total 88 cases and all were analyzed with both MLBC and CPS. Forty eight cases that were regarded as satisfactory on the basis of Bethesda system by both methods were further recruited for investigation. Their morphological parameters and staining quality were compared and scored according to a scoring system defined in the study. Quality indices was calculated for both staining procedures and smear techniques.

Primary study on providing a basic system for uterine cervical screening in a developing country: analysis of acceptability of self-sampling in Lao PDR

BACKGROUND

Most developing countries have been unable to implement well-organized health care systems, especially comprehensive Pap smear screening-based programs. One of the reasons for this is regional differences in medical services, and a low-cost portable cervical screening system is necessary. To improve regional discrepancies in cervical screening systems, we investigated the usefulness and acceptability of cervical self- sampling by liquid-based cytology (LBC) for 290 volunteers in the Lao PDR.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Following health education with comprehensive documents, cervical self-sampling kits by LBC were distributed in three provincial, district, and village areas to a total of 290 volunteers, who were asked to take cytology samples by themselves. Subsequently, the acceptability of self-sampling was evaluated using a questionnaire.

RESULTS

The documents were well understood in all three regions. Regarding the acceptability of self-sampling, the selections for subsequent screening were 62% self-sampling, 36% gynecologist-sampling, 1% either method, and 1% other methods. The acceptability rates were higher in the district and the village than in the province. For the relationship between acceptability and pregnancy, the self-sampling selection rate was higher in the pregnancy-experienced group (75%) than in the pregnancy-inexperienced group (60%). For the relationship between selection of self-sampling and experience of screening, the self-sampling selection rate was higher in the screening-inexperienced group (62%) than in the screening-experienced group (52%).

CONCLUSIONS

Our data show that this new way forward, involving a combination of self-sampling and LBC, is highly acceptable regardless of age, educational background, and residence in rural areas in a developing country.

Comparative study of manual liquid-based cytology (MLBC) technique and direct smear technique (conventional) on fine-needle cytology/fine-needle aspiration cytology samples

Background:

Liquid-based cytology technique enables cells to be suspended in a liquid medium and spread in a monolayer, making better morphological assessment. Automated techniques have been widely used, but limited due to cost and availability.

Aim:

The aim was to establish manual liquid-based cytology (MLBC) technique on fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) material and compare its results with conventional technique.

Materials and Methods:

In this study, we examined cells trapped in needles hub used for the collection of FNAC samples. 50 cases were examined by the MLBC technique and compared with the conventional FNAC technique. By centrifugation, sediment was obtained and imprint was taken on defined area. Papanicolaou (Pap) and May-Grünwald Giemsa (MGG) staining was done. Direct smears and MLBC smears were compared for cellularity, background, cellular preservation, and nuclear preservation. Slides were diagnosed independently by two cytologists with more than 5 years’ experience. Standard error of proportion was used for statistical analysis.

Results:

Cellularity was low in MLBC as compared with conventional smears, which is expected as remnant material in the needle hub was used. Nuclei overlap to a lesser extent and hemorrhage and necrosis was reduced, so cell morphology can be better studied in the MLBC technique. P value obtained was <0.05.

Conclusion:

This MLBC technique gives results comparable to the conventional technique with better morphology. In a set up where aspirators are learners, this technique will ensure adequacy due to remnant in needle hub getting processed

Manual Liquid-Based Cytology: A Clinical Pilot Study of the VitroPrep™ Cytology Processing Kit

OBJECTIVE

It was the aim of this study to assess the utility of the manual liquid-based cytology (LBC) product VitroPrep™ Cytology Processing Kit (ChemQ Bioscience LLC, Research Triangle Park, N.C., USA).

STUDY DESIGN

This is a descriptive pilot study. Women underwent cervical sampling processed by the ThinPrep™ automated LBC system followed by cervical sampling for the VitroPrep manual system. The following criteria were assessed on a scale of 1-5 (1 = unsatisfactory, 2 = borderline, 3 = acceptable, 4 = good, 5 = excellent): monolayer cell adhesion, overall cellularity, background clarity, preservation of cellular morphology, red cell lysis, and elimination of mucus/debris. Cytological diagnosis was compared to results from ThinPrep samples. In addition, VitroPrep samples were taken prior to conization procedures and compared to pathology results. Descriptive statistics were performed.

RESULTS

Forty-two of 47 women who underwent dual cytologic sampling had satisfactory samples. All scores were 3-5, with >90% graded 4-5. The VitroPrep diagnosis correlated with the ThinPrep diagnosis in 90% (38/42) of cases. All specimens obtained from 15 women prior to conization were satisfactory and correlated abnormal cytologic findings with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 1-3 pathology.

CONCLUSIONS

The VitroPrep Cytology Processing Kit was able to provide adequate specimens for evaluation and diagnosis. This low-cost processing kit may provide a useful alternative in settings where automated LBC systems may not be feasible.

Incidental finding of abnormal cervical pathology in hysterectomy specimens after normal preoperative Papanicolaou smears in Thammasat University Hospital

BACKGROUND

To investigate abnormal cervical histopathology (ACH) from hysterectomy specimens with normal preoperative Papanicolaou (Pap) smears.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Medical records from May 2009 to April 2012 were retrospectively reviewed of subjects from whom hysterectomy specimens were taken in Thammasat University Hospital. All had normal preoperative Pap smears. ACH was the primary outcome. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered significant. A total of 483 subjects with an average age of 50.5 years were recruited. Benign cases of enlarged uterus and pelvic mass were present in 94% (430/483). Endometrial and ovarian cancer were found at 6.2 and 4.7%, respectively. In hysterectomy specimens there were 19 (4%) cases of ACH. Silent ACH with benign disease, endometrial and ovarian cancers were 1.2% (5/430), 33.3% (10/30) and 17.4% (4/23), respectively. The negative predictive value (NPV) and false negative rate of Pap smears were 96 and 4%, respectively. ACH in malignant cases were 27.9% (12/43) and 20% (2/10) in adequate (APS) and inadequate (IPS) Pap collection groups, respectively. ACH in benign condition were 0.68% (2/292) and 2.2% (3/138) in APS and IPS, respectively. ACH was more often found in hysterectomy specimens with indication of malignancy than benign conditions with statistical significance. One third of preoperative stage I endometrial cancer cases had cervical involvement.

CONCLUSIONS

Silent ACH in normal preoperative Pap smear was 4 %. Inadequate Pap smear collection is still the major problem in this study. Reducing inadequate Pap smear collection could reduce the false negative rate.

Cytological characteristics of papillary thyroid carcinoma on LBC specimens, compared with conventional specimens

BACKGROUND

The cytological findings in conventional specimens (C-S) and liquid-based cytology specimens (LBC-S) are not quite same. The aim of this article is to clarify the cytological findings of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) characteristic of LBC-S.

METHODS

Out of 5,971 cases diagnosed in a single institution from March to September in 2012, 161 PTC cases with both C-S and LBC-S were reviewed. Additionally, we compared the findings with those in LBC-S of 55 adenomatous or hyperplastic nodule (AN) and 21 follicular neoplasm (FN) cases.

RESULTS

Compared to C-S, the incidences of trabecular and hobnail patterns, collagenous stroma, naked capillaries, intercellular spaces, convoluted nuclei, eosinophilic nucleoli, and perinucleolar halo were increased. Pale nuclei were observed in only one of 161 PTC cases. Specificity of convoluted nuclei and perinucleolar halo were 97.4% and 96.1%, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Convoluted nuclei and perinucleolar halo might become a new indicator of PTC in LBC-S. Contrarily, we should be aware that pale nuclei are rarely observed in LBC-S.

Overview of nongynecological samples prepared with liquid-based cytology medium

OBJECTIVE

Liquid-based cytology of nongynecological specimens is commonly used in cytology laboratories throughout the world and various processing methods, such as ThinPrep and SurePath, have been reported. The cytological features and performance of liquid-based cytology for various cytology specimens, including body cavity fluids, urine, brushing specimens and fine-needle aspiration of various lesions, were reviewed and compared with the experience of our laboratory and the literature published in PubMed.

STUDY DESIGN

The parameters for the evaluation of liquid-based cytology and conventional smears were described in the various types of specimens. Criteria for the interpretation of nongynecological liquid-based cytology were highlighted to show differences in cell morphology, background and artifacts.

RESULTS

The interpretation requires familiarity with the appearance of liquid-based cytology in the various types of preparations to avoid misdiagnosis.

CONCLUSIONS

Cell blocks can be prepared with specimens preserved in a liquid-based cytology medium and immunocytochemical stains and molecular testing can be successfully performed. These are important adjuncts in order to reach a definitive diagnosis.