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Updated: Feb 9, 2026

Modeling Oral-Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma in 3D Organoids
Published on: December 23, 2022
Atypical Squamous Cells: Cytopathological Findings and Correlation with HPV Genotype and Histopathology
Geilson Gomes de Oliveira1, Judite Maria da Silva Costa de Oliveira2, Renata Mirian Nunes Eleutério3
1Department of Pathology, Federal University of Ceará, Fortaleza, Brazilgeilson.ce@gmail.com.
Objective:
We aimed to assess potential associations between atypical squamous cell (ASC) subgroups: ASC-US (undetermined significance) and ASC-H (cannot exclude high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion), regarding cytomorphological features, high-risk (HR) human papillomavirus (HPV) testing, and histological outcomes in a sample of Brazilian women.
Study Design:
Cross-sectional study which evaluated 1,346 liquid-based cytologies between January 2010 and July 2016 with ASC results. ASC-US and ASC-H were analyzed for frequency, diagnostic criteria, and cytological findings and compared with HR-HPV tests and histological outcomes.
Results:
Enlarged nucleus was the most frequent ASC-US criterion, but alternative criteria were present in 20% of the total cases. No ASC-US criteria were associated with histological outcomes or HR-HPV positivity. Parakeratosis, corneal pearl, giant cells, and binucleation were strongly associated with ASC-US while hyperkeratosis was associated with high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) or a superior outcome. HR-HPV was positive in 64.39% of ASC-US and 65.38% of ASC-H. HSIL or superior outcomes also occurred in 13.33% of ASC-US and 64.71% of ASC-H cases.
Conclusion:
Alternative criteria for ASC-US were relatively frequent. Reactive cellular changes suggestive of atypias were more abundant in ASC-US. Although ASC-H is associated with worse histological outcomes, no differences in HPV positivity were found in comparison to ASC-US.
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