A comparison of liquid-based cytology with conventional Papanicolaou smears in cervical dysplasia diagnosis

Abstract

Background:Due to the high number of women affected by cervical cancer and the importance of an early diagnosis, combined with the frequent incidence of false-negative Papanicolaou (Pap) smear screening results for this disease, several studies have been conducted in recent years in order to find better tests. Liquid-based cytology (LBC) tests, including the liquid-based thin layer method, have demonstrated the highest potential for reducing false-negative cases and improved sample quality. This study aimed to compare the strength of the Pap smear test with fluid cytology and conventional tests in detecting cervical dysplasia.Materials and Methods:This descriptive-analytic study was conducted on 366 women who attended private laboratories for a Pap smear. The Pap smear sampling was conducted simultaneously using two methods: conventional Pap (CP) smear and LBC), from the cervix.Results:The mean age of the participants was 32 ± 8.8 years. Diagnostic results of endocervical cells, epithelial cells, vaginitis cells, and metaplastia were consistent with both conventional and liquid cytology smears, and the kappa coefficient was determined to be significant (P < 0.001). In total, 40.5% of diagnostic cases indicated bacterial inflammation 80.3% of the diagnoses in both methods were P1 and 3.9% of cases diagnosed were P2, the overall diagnostic consistency was 83.9% between the two sampling methods. The inflammation diagnosis was 40.5% and this was consistent in both methods of LBC and CP. There was one case of a false-negative diagnosis in the LBC method and 14 cases in the CP method.Conclusion:Results showed that the LBC may improve the sample's quality and reduce the number of unsatisfactory cases more than with the CP method.

Liquid Based Cytology versus Conventional Cytology for Evaluation of Cervical PAP Smear

“…Inadequate samples were observed in 0.3% of LBC samples versus 0.7% of Pap smears (P =.002) [32] in another study. There were 0.1% and 1.7% inadequate smear cases in the LBC method and CP, respectively, in the Tuncer et al study [33,34,35]. In the Kirschner et al study, inadequate cases were 2.3% and 0.3% in the LBC and CP respectively [36].…”

“…The results of Yousefi et al showed that inadequate cases were 1 case (0.3%) with CP and 14 cases (1%) wi th the LBC method [35].…”

A Review of Computational Methods for Cervical Cells Segmentation and Abnormality Classification

“…In fact, many researches have been conducted to evaluate and compare the efficacy of LBC with CPS as a screening tool for cervical cancer. Results lead to the conclusion that LBC samples provide higher quality samples by offering better clarity and uniform spread of smears, which reduces the number of unsatisfactory cases and requires less time for screening [18,19,20]. This has even more impact in postmenopausal women, where menopause-induced anatomical and hormonal changes make screening particularly challenging [19].…”

Comparison of Automated and Manual DNA Isolation Methods of Liquid-Based Cytology Samples

“…2 More recently, this technique has been modified into a liquid-based Pap smear or liquid-based cytology (LBC) to improve early detection, reduce false-negative rates, and simplify quality control (QC) that is demanded by conventional cervical cytology. 3 These modifications also offer advantages extending to multiple slide preparation, the incorporation of special stains (immunohistochemistry), human papillomavirus (HPV) detection through DNA testing, 1 and even the potential to detect other gynecological malignancies, most notably, endometrial and ovarian cancers. 4,5…”