Medical Lessons

The latest issue of the Annals of Internal Med­icine con­tains 2 note­worthy papers on cer­vical cancer screening. The first, a sys­tematic review of studies com­mis­sioned by the USPSTF, looked at 3 methods for eval­u­ating abnor­mal­ities in women over 30 years:

high-​​​​grade cer­vical cell dys­plasia (Dr. E. Uthman, Wiki­media Commons)

1. Con­ven­tional cytology (as in a Pap smear; the cervix is scraped and cells splayed onto a micro­scope slide for examination);

2. Liquid-​​​​based cytology (for LBC, the NHS explains: the sample is taken as for a Pap test, but the tip of the col­lection spatula is inserted into fluid rather than applied to slides. The fluid is sent to the path lab for analysis);

3. Testing for high-​​​​risk HPV (human papil­lo­mavirus). Cur­rently 3 tests have been approved by the FDA in women with atypical cer­vical cells or for cer­vical cancer risk assessment in women over the age of 30: Digene

See more Cer­vical Cancer Screening Update: on Pap Smears, Liquid-​​​​based Cytology and HPV