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

Abstract

Considering the exponentially growing concerns about the increase of anal cancer rates in women with human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, the authors evaluated concurrent anorectal and cervical cytology in women with positive and negative cervical smear tests. The current investigation was designed as a cross-sectional study conducted in Arash Women's Hospital, Tehran, Iran, between November 2020 and November 2021. Cervical cytology, HPV test, and anal cytology samples were prepared. Then women with abnormal cervical cytology and/or positive high-risk HPV were referred to a colposcopy clinic for further evaluation. Five hundred and forty-three women were recruited during the study period. These women were divided into two groups of positive cervical cytology (n= 161) and negative cervical cytology (n= 382). There were no cases of anal intraepithelial neoplasia in either group. Negative anal cytology was reported in 99 (61.5%) of participants with a positive cervical cytology and 254 (66.7%) of participants with a negative cervical cytology. A total of 62 (38.5%) anal samples in the positive group and 127 (33.3%) in the negative group were unsatisfactory for further evaluation. We were unable to show any correlation between abnormal cervical cytology, dysplasia, or cervical high-risk HPV with anal abnormal cytology.