Importance of adequacy of cytology sample in uterine cervix cancer screening

Importancia de la adecuación de la muestra citológica en la pesquisa de cáncer de cuello uterino

Objective: this is a review conducted to emphasize the importance of an optimal cytology sample for cervical cancer and precursor lesions screening, with preventive diagnostic purposes and knowledge on current clinical management guidelines, by means of an adequate sample Materials and methods. An electronic search was conducted in the PubMed database using the following terms and combinations: cervical cytology, cervical cancer screening, Bethesda system, adequacy, false negatives, clinical follow-up. The variables were the adequacy of the cytology sample for cervical cancer screening established by the current Bethesda system and clinical follow-up criteria.  Results: evaluating the quality of the cytology sample is considered as the main contribution to quality assurance of the Bethesda system used for reporting results. Clinical management guidelines, regarding adequate sampling and clinical follow-up, were established more than a decade ago, and are still in force.  Conclusions: an optimal cytology sample allows the detection of a higher proportion of significant cervical lesions, contributes to the clinical effectiveness of cancer screening and establishes the best care provision to the patient. Making the personnel involved aware of the importance of adequate sample collection is required.

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