Concurrent anorectal and cervical cytology in women with positive and negative cervical smear test results: A cross‐sectional study

Abstract

The embryonic origin of anal and cervical canals is the same: the cloacal membrane. So, it is not surprising that they share common histopathological features. Both of these canals contain squamocolumnar junctional where the endodermal and ectodermal tissues meet and may display metaplastic changes and neoplasia caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) infection that can manifest as preinvasive (anal intraepithelial neoplasia [AIN]) or invasive (anal cancer) disease. 1 Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and AIN share common cytological features, and both are described using the Bethesda classification system.Recent studies have shown that the incidence of AIN and anal cancer is increasing. 2 It is hypothesized that the rising rate of