A Comparison of Conventional Pap Smear and Liquid-Based Cytology for Cervical Cancer Screening

Early diagnosis and treatment of preinvasive lesions have made cervical cytology one of the most effective methods of cancer screening in industrialized nations, which have seen a sharp decline in the incidence and death of invasive cancer. The aim of this study is to compare liquid-based cytology (LBC) and conventional Pap on cervical smears.

From July 2018 to June 2022, 600 patients were included in this cross-sectional study, which was done at the Pathology Department of a Tertiary Care Facility in Western Maharashtra.

Of the 600 patients, 570 (95%) had good conventional Pap smear (CPS), whereas 30 (5%) had poor ones. Five hundred and ninety-two (98.6%) LBC smears were satisfactory, whereas 8 (1.4%) were unsatisfactory. Endocervical cells were seen in 294 (49%) CPS, whereas 360 (60%) LBC smears showed endocervical cells. The morphology of inflammatory cells was similar in both techniques. Hemorrhagic background was seen in 212 (35%) CPS and 76 (12.6%) LBC smears. Only two samples showed diathetic background, which was seen on both CPS and smear. Out of the satisfactory smears in the case of CPS, 512 (85%) cases were reported as negative for intraepithelial lesion or malignancy (NILM), whereas 58 (9.7%) cases were reported as epithelial cell abnormality. In LBC smears, 526 (87.3%) were reported as NILM, whereas 66 (11%) were reported as epithelial cell abnormality. Organisms were detected in 208 (34%) CPS and 162 (27%) LBC smears. Screening time was 5 ± 1 min for CPS, whereas it was 3 ± 1 min for LBC smear.

Mortality will be decreased using LBC on a bigger scale in nations where many smears can be made and screened in a short amount of time, with the provision of doing human papillomavirus-based testing on the remaining sample.