"Screen and Treat" Approach among VIA Positive Women during Cervical Cancer Screening Program: Experience at Low...

Area of Science:

• Gynecology
• Oncology
• Public Health

Background:

• Cervical cancer is a leading cause of mortality among women in low-income countries, often diagnosed at advanced stages.
• Early detection and treatment of precancerous lesions are crucial for prevention.
• The
• screen and treat
• approach offers a promising solution for low-resource settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of a same-day cervical cancer screening and treatment protocol.
• To diagnose premalignant cervical lesions using visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) and treat them with thermo-coagulation.
• To assess the utility of colposcopy as an intermediate diagnostic step.

Main Methods:

• A prospective study involving approximately 1000 women at a Upzilla Health Complex.
• Cervical screening using visual inspection with 5.00% acetic acid (VIA).
• VIA-positive cases underwent colposcopy, with biopsies taken for suspicious lesions, followed by thermo-coagulation treatment.

Main Results:

• VIA detected positive results in 22 cases.
• Histopathology of biopsies revealed CIN1 in 50% and CIN2 in 8.33% of cases.
• Colposcopy demonstrated high sensitivity (100%) and specificity (75-95.20%) for detecting CIN1 and CIN2.

Conclusions:

• VIA is an effective screening tool for cervical cancer in low-resource settings.
• The
• screen and treat
• approach using thermo-coagulation is feasible, accepted by women, and achieves satisfactory cure rates.
• This strategy can significantly reduce loss to follow-up and contribute to cervical cancer control.