CYTOLOGY OF UTERINE CERVIX BY PAP SMEAR: A STUDY FROM SOUTH INDIA

BACKGROUND: Cervical cancer is the most common form of cancer in women in developing countries and the second most common form of cancer in women in the world as a whole. Three quarters of these women who develop CA Cervix live in developing countries. The dramatic reduction in the incidence of cervical cancer in developed countries is because of wide use of an effective cytological screening test, the Papanicolaou smear which can identify the pre-invasive forms of cervical neoplasia. OBJECTIVE: A prospective study to find out the prevalence of cervical intra epithelial lesion in women of reproductive age group. SETTINGS: 1000 women attending a teaching hospital in South India are studied for a period of one & half years. Pap smear was taken from them and were reported as per the Bethesda System of classification. RESULTS: Papanicolaou smear of 1000 patients were reported. Normal smears were seen in 39.9%, inflammatory smears in 53.1%. Intra epithelial lesions were found to be 3.5%. Low grade squamous intra epithelial lesions in 2%, High grade squamous Intra epithelial lesion in 0.9%. ASCUS 0.3% AGCUS 0.3%, Squamous cell carcinoma 0.3% Adeno Carcinoma 0.1%.