Contribution of combined colposcopy and cytology in cervical pathology.

AIM: The regular Papanicolaou (Pap) smear is the cornerstone of women's preventive healthcare. The introduction of the regular Pap smear as a screening tool for cervical cancer has markedly decreased the number of deaths from cervical cancer. During the past decade, however, the rate of death from cervical cancer has remained relatively static. This screening method is known to have a high percentage of false negative results. To improve the detection of cervical lesions using the Pap smear in screening, a number of adjunct procedures have been developed. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the utility of a magnified chemoluminescent screening examination (Colposcopy) combined with the Pap smear in detecting cervical abnormalities. METHODS: We investigated a cohort of 58 subjects who have been forwarded for colposcopic evaluation due to referral cytology suggestive of persistent inflammatory process not otherwise specified, and cervical intraepithelial or invasive neoplasia, in Chania Colposcopic clinic. RESULTS: The higher the lesion detected by cytology, the more severe the corresponding colposcopic impression viewed. CONCLUSION: The data presented here are in harmony with previous reports and share our experience in a Regional Community Hospital Colposcopy Clinic. An integrated cytology-colposcopy program facilitates the assessment and identification of women harboring cervical pathological conditions.