Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between the frequency of micronuclei (MN) and the cellular changes detected in the conventional Papanicolaou test. One hundred and seventy-four Papanicolaou test smears with cellular changes were examined. MN screening was done in cytopathological smears by counting 1,000 cervical cells in a light microscope. MN frequencies were significantly higher in the group with cellular changes compared to the control group (p < 0.001). The mean MN frequencies were 0.95 ± 1.12 (mean ± SD) in the control group (n = 223), 2.98 ± 1.20 in individuals with atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASC-US) (n = 50), 4.04 ± 1.45 in cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) I (n = 52), 5.97 ± 1.83 in CIN II (n = 30), 7.29 ± 1.55 in CIN III (n = 17) and 8.64 ± 1.55 in invasive cancer (n = 25). These findings suggest that MN monitoring should be included as an additional criterion for the early detection of cytogenetic damage in routine examinations. This monitoring should be done in the same smear as used for cytopathological examination. More specific and systematic studies are necessary to confirm this proposal.
Highlights
Cervical cancer is the third most common cancer among women worldwide (Jemal et al, 2011) and the second cause of cancer mortality in Brazilian women (WHO/ICO, 2013)
Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is responsible for virtually all cervical cancers, in some situations the presence of the virus is not linked to the cellular changes visualized by microscopy
Complementary methods aimed at increasing the sensitivity of screening for cervical cancer have been described, including high-risk HPV testing (Abreu et al, 2012) and micronucleus (MN) identification (Aires et al, 2011; Gayathri et al, 2012)
Summary
Cervical cancer is the third most common cancer among women worldwide (Jemal et al, 2011) and the second cause of cancer mortality in Brazilian women (WHO/ICO, 2013). Complementary methods aimed at increasing the sensitivity of screening for cervical cancer have been described, including high-risk HPV testing (Abreu et al, 2012) and micronucleus (MN) identification (Aires et al, 2011; Gayathri et al, 2012).
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