A Comparative Study for Selectivity of Micronuclei in Cervical Exfoliated Cells on Chronic Boron Effects

Cervical cancer is one of the most frequent malignancies in women. Micronucleus (MN) testing has gained popularity as a biomarker in early diagnosis of many types of cancer.

This study aims to investigate the role of MN testing on early detection of cervical cancer and the effect of boron exposure on cervical cells.

The study population comprised women who were diagnosed to be human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive and had atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS) as cervical cytology in a cervical screening project. A total of 15 HPV-positive and 36 ASCUS patients were identified. Randomly selected 20 women were selected from boron-rich region (n = 10) and nonboron region (n = 10).

Cervical swab specimens were dyed using Papanicolaou (PAP) and May-Grünwalds-Giemsa (MGG) techniques, and MN count in 1000 cells was performed. The results were statistically evaluated.

Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 13. Quantitative data were presented as mean ± standard deviation. MN test scoring was compared using Mann-Whitney U-test.

Boron content of urine was measured to be 3.02 ± 1.45 and 0.98 ± 0.42 mg/day in boron-rich and nonboron regions, respectively. When MN counts were compared according to PAP and MGG staining in HPV- and ASCUS-positive women, there was statistically no significant difference (P > 0.05). Disregarding regions, HPV/control and HPV/ASCUS cases stained with PAP and MGG had statistically significant difference in MN count (P < 0.05).

These findings suggest that MGG and PAP staining gives similar results with regard to MN count. On the other hand, it has been shown again that HPV induces MN and causes genomic instability.