Overall Accuracy of Cervical Cytology and Clinicopathological Significance of LSIL Cells in ASC‐H Cytology

Objective: The aims of this study were (i) to investigate the diagnostic accuracy of Papanicolaou (Pap) smears and (ii) to evaluate the clinicopathological significance of the presence of low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL) cells in atypical squamous cells cannot exclude high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL) (ASC-H) cytology.Methods: We retrospectively reviewed paired cytological and histological findings from 3141 patients. ASC-H cytology was classified as either ASC-H or LSIL with some features suggestive of the presence of a concurrent HSIL (LSIL-H). Clinicopathological characteristics were evaluated through a retrospective study and meta-analysis.Results: The accuracy of the cytological diagnosis was 93.7% (2942 of 3141 cases). The positive predictive value (PPV) of ASC-H for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 or worse (CIN 2+) was 51.4%. In cases of LSIL-H, CIN 2+ histology was more prevalent in the pre-menopausal period (19-44 years) than in peri- and postmenopausal periods (older than 45 years) (P = 0.024). There was no difference in the ability of LSIL-H and ASC-H to predict CIN 2+.Conclusion: The Pap smear is a good cervical cancer screening method. Although there was no difference in the predictive value for CIN 2+ between LSIL-H and ASC-H, the presence of definite LSIL cells was more predictive of CIN 2+ in younger patients than in older patients.