National Cervical Cancer Screening Program: the contribution of anatomic pathology laboratory of Santa Casa de Misericórdia de Passos (MG)

Abstract

Cytological diagnosis of cervical smears have been used to prevent and detect early cervical carcinoma. In countries where a cervical cancer screening program is organized, the mortality rate due to cervical cancer is reduced. In Brazil, the first National Cervical Cancer Screening Program was carried out from August to September 1998. In the present study, the results of this Program at the city of Passos- MG are reported. Two thousand nine hundred and five (2905) cervical smears were analyzed, and 16 (0,54%) showed some degree of epithelial or glandular atypical features. The highest number of cervical smears was from women between 36 and 49 years old. Although the frequency of atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS) was similar to that reported in the literature, with a relation ASCUS/ Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasm (CIN) of 1:16, it is possible that some cases of Human Papiloma Virus (HPV) had been diagnosed as ASCUS.