Application of liquid-based cytology test in cervical pathology screening

Objective To assess the value of liquid-based cytological test(LCT)in cervical pathology screening.Methods A retrospective analysis was preformed among the 4532 subjects examined in our hospital using LCT,including 66 subjects with normal results of cervical cytological tests,and 695 with atypical squa- mous cells of uncertain significance(ASCUS),low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion(LSIL),high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion(HSIL)or squamous cell cancer(SCC).All subjects underwent colposcopy with biopsy examination,and the results of LCT were compared with those of histopathological examination to calcu- late the sensitivity,specificity,positive predictive value and negative predictive value of LCT.Results His- topathological examination identified chronic inflammation(including condyloma)in 409 cases,gradeⅠcervical intraepithelial neoptasia(CIN)in 245 cases,CINⅡin 60 cases,ClNⅢin 35 cases,and SCC in 12 cases.The concordance rate between LCT and histopathologicaI results was 69.39%(170/245)for LSIL,96.84%(92/ 95)for HSIL,and 100%(12/12)for SCC.The sensitivity,specificity,positive predictive value and negative predictive value of LCT were 98.86%,15.16%,50.07% and 93.94%,respectively.Conclusion LCT is high- ly sensitive for cervical pathology detection,and patients with LCT-based diagnosis of ASCUS,LSIL,HSIL and SCC should receive biopsy examination under colposcopy for early detection of the early cervical lesions and therefore the early interventions.(Shanghai Med J,2008,31:169-171)