Liquid-based Cytology vs Conventional Cytology as a Screening Tool for Cervical Cancer in Postmenopausal Women

Abstract

ABSTRACT Aim To evaluate and compare the efficacy of liquid-based cytology (LBC) with conventional cytology (CS) as a screening tool for cervical cancer in postmenopausal women. Materials and methods This was an observational crosssectional study conducted over one year. Subjects were recruited from patients attending the outpatient department of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, King George's Medical University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. Pap smear and LBC were taken in all subjects. In cases with suspected lesions, the discrepancy between Pap smear and LBC and colposcopy was found. Results Pap smear reported 14.3% inadequate smears in women with postmenopausal changes and 5% inadequate smears in women without postmenopausal changes. In contrast, LBC reported no inadequate smear. This difference was statistically significant (p = 0.011). Cervical neoplasia was ruled out in 53.6% cases by Pap smear and 75.8% cases by LBC. The difference was statistically significant (p = 0.002). Conclusion Liquid-based cytology offers better results in detecting cervical pathology when compared with Pap smear. Liquid-based cytology could be better as a screening method, especially in postmenopausal women in which the screening is challenging due to menopause-induced anatomical and hormonal changes. Clinical significance Cervical cancer is the most common genital cancer among Indian women. Postmenopausal women are at higher risk for developing cervical cancer. Low estrogenic state poses a challenge for detection of cervical cancer by CS in postmenopausal women. We investigated LBC as a better cervical cancer screening tool in this age group. How to cite this article Qureshi S, Singh U, Foruin S, Negi N, Agarwal G, Singh N. Liquid-based Cytology vs Conventional Cytology as a Screening Tool for Cervical Cancer in Postmenopausal Women. J South Asian Feder Obst Gynae 2017;9(2):159-163.