Interobserver Variability in Subclassification of Squamous Intraepithelial Lesions

1999 ◽  
Vol 123 (11) ◽  
pp. 1079-1084 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sherry L. Woodhouse ◽  
Janet F. Stastny ◽  
Patricia E. Styer ◽  
Mary Kennedy ◽  
Amy H. Praestgaard ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective.—To determine whether, on a national cytology proficiency test, a competent cytologist can consistently distinguish grades of squamous intraepithelial lesions. Design.—Results for low- and high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion referenced slides from the College of American Pathologists Interlaboratory Comparison Program in Cervicovaginal Cytology for 1996 and 1997 were analyzed including educational, nongraded vs graded validated slides. Results.—The discrepant rate between low- and high- grade lesions ranged from 9.8% to 15% for cytotechnologist, pathologist, laboratory, and all responses. There was a statistically significant difference in performance on graded, validated slides vs educational slides with better performance on validated slides. Conclusion.—This significant interobserver variability in subclassification of squamous lesions should be considered in management guidelines for abnormal Papanicolaou test results and implementation of national cytology proficiency testing.

2004 ◽  
Vol 128 (7) ◽  
pp. 746-748 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew A. Renshaw ◽  
Michael A. Schulte ◽  
Elizabeth Plott ◽  
Barbara Dubray-Benstein ◽  
Camilla J. Cobb ◽  
...  

Abstract Context.—Conventional Papanicolaou (Pap) test slides of high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSILs) that are frequently misdiagnosed are known to have relatively few dysplastic cells. Whether this is true of cases of HSIL in ThinPrep Pap Test specimens is not known. Objective.—To determine if cases of HSIL in ThinPrep specimens that are frequently missed have relatively few dysplastic cells. Design.—The cytologic features of 16 ThinPrep cases of HSIL that performed poorly in the College of American Pathologists Interlaboratory Comparison Program were compared with 22 ThinPrep Pap Test cases that performed extremely well. Results.—Significantly more cases that performed poorly had fewer than 250 dysplastic cells (13/16) than cases that performed well (3/22) (P < .001). Conclusion.—ThinPrep Pap Test cases with a diagnosis of HSIL that performed poorly in this program had significantly fewer dysplastic cells than those that performed well.


2012 ◽  
Vol 137 (7) ◽  
pp. 936-941 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly A. Khan ◽  
Debora A. Smith ◽  
Michael J. Thrall

Context.—Previous work has reported that most high-grade cervical neoplasia is seen in patients with preceding Papanicolaou test results of atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance. This information was based on conventional test results and the Bethesda 1991 reporting system and was determined before the current treatment guidelines. Objective.—Our objective was to perform a retrospective review of all histologically confirmed, high-grade cervical neoplasia to determine the diagnosis of the preceding liquid-based Papanicolaou test. Design.—A total of 189 histologically confirmed, high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) cases grade 2 and greater were identified for a 1-year period. Results.—Of the 189 cases, 10 (5.3%) had a previous diagnosis of atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance; 55 (29.1%) had low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions; 31 (16.4%) had low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions, unable to rule out a high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion; 21 (11.1%) had atypical squamous cells, unable to rule out a high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion; 68 (36%) had high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions; 1 (0.5%) had atypical glandular cells; 1 (0.5%) had adenocarcinoma in situ; and 2 (1%) had invasive carcinoma. Combined “low grade” Papanicolaou test results (atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance and low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion) preceded 51 of 103 cases of CIN 2 (49.5%) and 14 of 103 cases (13.6%) of CIN 3/cancer, whereas “high grade” Papanicolaou test results (atypical squamous cells, unable to rule out a high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion; low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions, unable to rule out a high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion; high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions; atypical glandular cells; adenocarcinoma in situ; and invasive carcinoma) preceded 52 of 103 CIN 2 cases (50.5%) and 72 of 103 CIN 3/cancer cases (69.9%). Conclusions.—Our data show that we can now more-reliably predict high-grade dysplasia on routine Papanicolaou tests. Only a small fraction of histologically confirmed CIN 2/3 cases are found following a Papanicolaou test diagnosis of atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance.


2005 ◽  
Vol 129 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew A. Renshaw ◽  
Barbara Dubray-Benstein ◽  
Jennifer Haja ◽  
Jonathan H. Hughes

Abstract Context.—Both conventional and ThinPrep Papanicolaou smears with high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions that are frequently missed are known to have relatively few abnormal cells. Whether this is also true of cases of low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion is not known. Objective.—To compare the cytologic features of cases of low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion that perform poorly with the features of cases that perform well. Design.—The cytologic features of 10 ThinPrep Pap Test and conventional smear cases of low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion that performed poorly in the College of American Pathologists Interlaboratory Comparison Program were compared with 46 ThinPrep Pap Test and conventional smear cases that performed extremely well. The numbers of abnormal cells were categorized into less than 50, 51 to 100, 101 to 250, 251 to 500, and more than 500. Results.—The median number of abnormal cells for cases that performed poorly was less than 50, whereas the median number of abnormal cells for cases that performed well was between 101 and 250. Overall, cases that performed poorly were significantly more likely to have less than 50, less than 100, and less than 250 abnormal cells than cases that performed well (P < .001, P < .001, and P = .009, respectively). A minority of cases performed well even with very few abnormal cells and groups. The same findings were present when conventional smears and ThinPrep specimens were analyzed separately. Conclusions.—ThinPrep Pap Test cases and conventional smears with a diagnosis of low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion that perform poorly in this program have significantly fewer abnormal cells than those that perform well. The median number of abnormal cells in cases that performed well is lower than that of comparable high-grade cases in the program.


Author(s):  
José Xavier-Júnior ◽  
Rozany Dufloth ◽  
Diama Vale ◽  
Marcelo Lima ◽  
Luiz Zeferino

Objective To evaluate the association of age at first sexual intercourse with the results of the cervicovaginal cytology. Study Design Observational analytical study about the prevalence of altered cervicovaginal cytology results in women aged between 18 and 34 years from a densely populated area in Brazil, during 10 years. The patients were stratified into 2 categories according to their age at first sexual intercourse (13–16 years and 17–24 years). Results From the total of 2,505,154 exams, 898,921 tests were in accordance with the inclusion criteria. Considering women with 4 years or less from the first sexual intercourse as a reference, those with 5 to 9 years and 10 years or more showed a higher prevalence of high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSILs). Women with an earlier onset of sexual intercourse (13–16 years) showed higher prevalence ratios for atypical squamous cells (ASC), low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL) and HSIL. The prevalence ratio for HSIL adjusted by age at diagnosis and by age at first sexual intercourse was higher only for women with an earlier onset of sexual intercourse. Conclusions The age of first sexual intercourse could be a variable that might qualify the selection among young women who are really at a higher risk for HSIL.


BMC Surgery ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiao Li ◽  
Meihua Liu ◽  
Yurou Ji ◽  
Pengpeng Qu

Abstract Background The effectiveness of surgery of high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion in post-menopausal women needs to be investigated. This study evaluated the clinical significance of cold-knife conization in the diagnosis and surgery of cervical high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions in post-menopausal women. Methods We conducted a retrospective analysis of post- and pre-menopausal patients with high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion. All patients received cold-knife conization as the primary therapy. Results The satisfactory rate of colposcopy was significantly lower in the post-menopausal group than in the pre-menopausal group (38.33 vs. 71.25%; χ2 = 36.202, P < 0.001). The overall positive margin rate of cold-knife conization (25.83 vs 12.50%; χ2 = 10.106, P = 0.001) and rate of positive endocervical cone margins (16.67 vs. 4.58%; χ2 = 14.843, P < 0.001) were significantly higher in the post-menopausal group. Moreover, 49 post- and 60 pre-menopausal women underwent subsequent surgical treatment (40.83 vs. 25.00%). Residual rate of positive and negative margins in patients before and after menopause was significantly different (χ2 = 5.711, P = 0.017; χ2 = 12.726, P < 0.001, respectively). The recurrence rate in post-menopausal women remained 3.85%. Conclusions Cold-knife conization can be performed as a primary procedure for diagnosis and surgery of post-menopausal patients with high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions. Sufficient deep excisions are necessary to avoid positive endocervical margins, which can reduce the residual and recurrence of postoperative lesions.


1970 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 180-185
Author(s):  
Shiva Raj KC ◽  
OP Talwar

Background: ‘AgNOR’ represents Nucleolar Organiser Regions stained with silver which are related to cell proliferation rate and tumor malignant potential. The objective of this study was to evaluate the role of AgNOR in differentiating benign and precancerous lesions from cancerous lesions in both cervical smears and histology. Materials and Methods: This was a prospective study conducted at Manipal Teaching Hospital, from July 2005 to June 2007. Women of suspected cervical pathology and who underwent pap smears test followed by subsequent biopsy were included. There were 53 cases were included out of which 11 cases were of high grade squamous intraepithelial lesion and 12 cases of low grade squamous intraepithelial lesion, and 10 cases each of carcinoma, chronic cervicitis with and without squamous metaplasia. Results: In Low grade squamous intraepithelial lesion meanAgNOR dots was < (2.9 in pap smears and 1.9 in histology) in high grade lesion (3.45 in pap smears and 3.00 in histology). In carcinoma meanAgNOR dots was 5.18 and 4.05 in pap smears and histology respectively. Subjective AgNOR Pattern Assessment in pap smears and in histology was increasing with significant difference from intraepithelial lesions to carcinoma. Conclusion: In cervical pathology, the number and shape of AgNOR dots change from benign to precancerous to malignant tumors. Similarly, AgNOR Pattern Assessment is useful in differentiating benign to intraepithelial lesions to carcinoma cases. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jpn.v2i3.6017 JPN 2012; 2(3): 180-185


2018 ◽  
Vol 147 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Xu ◽  
Z. Xia ◽  
L. Wang ◽  
B. Yang ◽  
Y. Zhu ◽  
...  

AbstractThe distribution of human papillomaviruses (HPVs) must be understood for the control and prevention of cervical cancer. Community-based Papanicolaou and HPV DNA tests were performed on 41 578 women. The prevalences of HPV genotypes 16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 56, 58, 59, 66 and 68 were assessed. In total, 10% women were infected/co-infected by these HPVs. The infection rate increased from 7.1% in women aged ⩽30 years to 10.4% in those aged 50–60 years, and then decreased slightly to 9.9% in those aged >60 years. The HPV 16 and 58 positivity rates were significantly higher among women with high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSILs) than among those with cervicitis/negativity for intraepithelial lesion or malignancy (NILM) or low-grade SILs (LSILs). The HPV 18, 52 and 68 infection rates were significantly lower in women with HSILs than in those with NILM or LSILs. The proportion of women infected by multiple HPV strains was higher among those with HSILs. The proportions of the five most common genotypes, HPV 16, 18, 33, 52 and 58, increased with the number of co-infecting strains. HPV 16 and 58 were the high-risk HPVs in the Shanghai community and should be the focus in HPV screening and vaccination.


2017 ◽  
Vol 142 (3) ◽  
pp. 347-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siavash Azadmanesh Samimi ◽  
Roxanne R. Mody ◽  
Steven Goodman ◽  
Eric Luna ◽  
Donna Armylagos ◽  
...  

Context.— Persistent infection with high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) is the major cause of cervical cancer. The effect of HPV infection patterns on cytologic detection of cervical lesions is unknown. Objective.— To determine the effect of HPV infection patterns on the sensitivity of cytologic detection of high-grade cervical lesions. Design.— Papanicolaou tests from 257 women with biopsy-confirmed, high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions were analyzed with respect to HPV infection patterns. Results.— Among 257 biopsy-confirmed, high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion cases, the preceding cytology showed 20 cases (8%) were benign; 166 cases (65%) were low-grade cervical lesions, including atypical squamous cell of undetermined significance and low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions; and 71 cases (28%) were high-grade cervical lesions, including atypical squamous cells cannot rule out high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (atypical squamous cell–high), atypical glandular cells, and high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions. In 236 cases tested for HPV, those exhibiting low-grade cervical lesions on cytology were often associated with coinfections of mixed hrHPV genotypes (31 of 40; 78%) or non-16/18 hrHPV (75/103; 73%), compared with single-genotype infections of HPV-16 (33 of 62; 53%) or HPV-18 (2 of 6; 33%) (P = .001). In contrast, high-grade cervical lesion cytomorphology tended to associate with the single-genotype infection of HPV-16 (20 of 62; 32%) or HPV-18 (3 of 6; 50%), compared with non-16/18 hrHPV (25 of 103; 24%) or multigenotype infection (8 of 40; 20%) (P = .01). Conclusions.— Our findings suggest that multigenotypic or non-16/18 hrHPV infections often produce deceptive lower-grade cytomorphology, which could result in underdiagnosis and delay of treatment. The HPV infection patterns may offer unrecognized benefit beyond HPV genotyping and should be considered during clinical risk evaluation of women with lower-grade cytology.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document