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June 29, 2007
New Cervical Cancer Test Increases the Detection Rate of Abnormal Cells
Topics: Medical Science News
According to a study published on bmj.com today, more histological high-grade cervical disease is detected by the ThinPrep Imager than by conventional cytology. The test could also lead to fewer women needing to be re-tested and might allow for longer intervals in-between testing:
The manual screening of conventional pap smears for cervical cancer has been around for decades but liquid-based cytology (LBC) is now replacing it in many countries.More here ...Conventional smears are made by transferring material, taken from the cervix by a collection instrument, directly onto a glass slide. LBC slides are made by rinsing the collection instrument in liquid to produce a suspension, which is processed in a laboratory to produce a single layer of cells.
A recent study published by Guglielmo Ronco in the BMJ found that LBC did not significantly increase the ability to detect moderate (CIN2) or severe abnormalities (CIN3) compared to the conventional smear when both slides were evaluated manually by a cytologist.
In the study published today by Dr. Davey, researchers used a computerised reading system, known as a Thin Prep Imager (TPI) to evaluate LBC slides. The programme would highlight any slides which needed further examination. These were looked at by a cytologist.
Samples were taken from 55,164 Australian women. From each single collection, a conventional cytology (CC) sample was made first, followed by a TPI sample.
The most important finding of the study is that the ThinPrep Imager detected 1.3 more cases of high-grade cervical abnormalities per 1,000 women screened than the conventional cytology test.
Related: Introduction of the Thin Prep Imaging System™ (TIS): experience in a high volume academic practice
Posted by Richard at June 29, 2007 11:20 PM
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