Liquid-based Cytology versus Conventional Cytology for Evaluation of Cervical Cytology in a Tertiary Care Center of Chhattisgarh

Introduction: Cervical cancer is the second most common type of cancer among women's according to the World Health Organization. Worldwide screening programs for cervical cancer-based on the Papanicolaou smear have contributed to the decrease in incidence and mortality of cervical cancer. Objective: To compare the adequacy of smears and diagnostic difference of conventional conventional pap smear [CPS] versus liquid-based cytology (LBC). Materials and Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted in a tertiary care referral institute in 80 consecutive cervical "split samples" over a period of 1-year. Samples were taken with cervex-brush, first a CPS was prepared then for LBC same brush head was suspended in preservative fluid after detachment and processed by SurePath (TM) LBC. Results: There were 92.5% satisfactory smears in LBC while in CPS it was 78.8%, with statistically significant difference P = 0.02. Endocervical cells were present in 57.5% of cases in CPS, while in LBC, it was present in 18.8%. Clarity of background was significantly increased with LBC. Infectious organisms were better detected in LBC. Sensitivity for detection of low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL) (78.6%) and for high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL) (72.7%) was higher in LBC as compare to 71.4% and 63.6% in CPS, respectively. Specificity was also higher in LBC 100% for both LSIL and HSIL, whereas in CPS, it was 95.8% for LSIL and 96.3% for HSIL. Conclusion: In the present study, adequacy rate for LBC significantly increased, and the performance of LBC technique was better than CPS.