STUDY:

JOURNAL: Cancer Cytopathol 2002;96:338-343.

AUTHORS: Dr. Raheela Ashfaq

ABSTRACT: The ThinPrep Pap test (Cytyc, Boxborough, Massachusetts) is more sensitive in detecting cervical and endometrial adenocarcinomas than is the conventional Pap smear.

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COMMENTARY: Dr. Raheela Ashfaq and colleagues from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, evaluated women with atypical glandular cells of undetermined significance (AGCUS) or adenocarcinomas diagnosed between 1998 and 2000 using the ThinPrep method. The control group included women who underwent conventional smears obtained between 1996 to 1998. Histological follow-up was performed for all patients.

Of 112,058 ThinPrep Pap tests, 186 (0.17%) were found to be AGCUS/adenocarcinomas, the researchers report. Of the 83,464 conventional smears, 77 (0.09%) were interpreted as AGCUS/adenocarcinomas.

The overall sensitivity in detecting cervical and endometrial adenocarcinomas was higher with the ThinPrep Pap test (72%) than with the conventional Pap smear (41.5%, p < 0.001).

"We believe that the introduction of the ThinPrep Pap test in our laboratory has resulted in a significant improvement in the detection of glandular lesions," the investigators conclude. "Our findings suggest that this system can facilitate a more directed approach to the evaluation and treatment of cervical and endometrial adenocarcinomas."