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Clinical and diagnostic significance of blood in cervical smears
Author(s) -
Boon Mathilde E.,
OuwerkerkNoordam Elisabeth,
van Leeuwen Antoine W.M.F.,
van HaaftenDay Caroline
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
diagnostic cytopathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.417
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1097-0339
pISSN - 8755-1039
DOI - 10.1002/dc.10262
Subject(s) - medicine , bethesda system , pathology , clinical significance , blood smear , cd34 , cervix , cervical cancer , malignancy , basal cell , pap smears , cancer , cytology , stem cell , biology , genetics , malaria
A heavy admixture of blood in cervical smears can be problematic for the screener, as the presence of blood can influence the staining quality of the cancer cell nuclei. However, it might also be a blessing in disguise. A retrospective study of 40 clinically important smears, 34 originally signed out as negative for squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix and 6 smears as unsatisfactory, was carried out in comparison with 100 smears from healthy women. Sample parameters were analyzed by macroscopy and neural network scanning. Differences between the two study groups were measured by Pearson's χ 2 test. Of the 40 study cases, one case featured insufficient material, while 16 cases (40%) could confidently be classified as malignant or negative for malignancy. The most important macroscopic parameter of the smears was an admixture of blood. This background feature was also highlighted by the NNS system. Angiogenesis was visualized by the expression of CD34 in many sampled capillary fragments included in the smears. In conclusion, blood in cervical smears may have clinical and diagnostic significance. The rate of “failed smears” in routine cervical screening might thus by CD34 be considerably decreased. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2003;28:181–185. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.