[Cervical cancer screening in the State of Maranhão, Brazil]

The scope of the study was to analyze the screening for cervical cancer in the state of Maranhão using secondary data from the Cervical Cancer Information System (SISCOLO). A retrospective descriptive study was conducted using secondary data from 139505 cytopathology exams recorded in SISCOLO in Maranhão in 2011. The variables: age, education, adequacy of material, represented epithelia, microbiology and cellular changes detected in Pap smear tests were selected. The age group between 25 to 29 years and incomplete basic schooling were the most frequent findings. The most common microbiological agents detected were bacilli (52.8%), cocci (45.5%) and Lactobacillus sp (32.6%). Inflammation was the most common benign cellular alteration (86.3%). Low-grade intraepithelial lesions were the most prevalent atypical findings in squamous cells (0.6%), followed by high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (0.2%). Squamous cell carcinoma was observed in 0.003% and 0.006% for adenocarcinoma. SISCOLO proved a useful tool for studying aspects related to cancer screening of the cervix, which can orient actions to reduce the incidence and mortality from this cancer.