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THE PLACE OF COLPOSCOPY IN THE ASSESSMENT OF DYSPLASIA, CARCINOMA‐IN‐SITU AND EARLY CARCINOMA OF THE CERVIX
Author(s) -
Cope Ian
Publication year - 1969
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1969.tb105594.x
Subject(s) - colposcopy , carcinoma in situ , cervix , medicine , dysplasia , biopsy , carcinoma , punch biopsy , cervical cancer , gynecology , radiology , pathology , cancer
Colposcopy is a valuable tool for the investigation of the cervix. Approximately 4·5% of women with no symptoms in the reproductive age group will be found to have some abnormality of the cervix not visible to the naked eye. In most cases, this abnormality is an area of dysplasia, but sometimes it is an area of carcinoma‐in‐situ. Without colposcopic examination, these areas of dysplasia cannot be studied in situ. Colposcopy will detect 85% of carcinoma‐in‐situ and will pick up some cases of carcinoma‐in‐situ missed by cytological examination. If the efficiency of cytological examination of a single cervical smear is of the order of 90%, colposcopy will detect half of the cases of carcinoma‐in‐situ not detected by cytology. The extent of the lesion in carcinoma‐in‐situ can be more accurately defined, and this allows cone biopsy to be more adequately planned. Without colposcopy, 1% to 2% of cone biopsies will not include all the vaginal extension of the lesion, and in many cases, the cone biopsy will be more extensive than that actually required. Some early cases of carcinoma of the cervix can be differentiated from carcinoma‐in‐situ and punch biopsies taken rather than a cone biopsy. This facilitates better treatment for the early carcinoma of the cervix.