Pathologists at Ohio State University re-checked the Pap smears of 84
women whose initial Pap results were diagnosed as abnormal using the
ThinPrep testing method. All women were on an oral contraceptive. In
each case, the cells lining the cervix looked like cells infected with the
sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV), a leading cause of
cervical cancer.
The new diagnoses found that in
two-thirds of the women, there
were no abnormal cervical
squamous cells, or, more precisely,
atypical squamous cells of
undetermined significance
(ASCUS)/favor low-grade
dysplasia. The presence of
dysplasia abnormal cells
indicates that a woman is infected
with HPV, said Gerard Nuovo, the
study's lead author and a
professor of pathology at Ohio
State University.
"That's a lot of women who were
told that they had a venereal
disease but really didn't," he said.
"Not only that, but HPV is also a
precursor of cervical cancer. We don't see cases of cervical cancer
without the virus present."
The study appears in a recent issue of the journal Cancer
Cytopathology.
When diagnosing a Pap culture,
pathologists look for irregularities
in cervical squamous cells.
Squamous cells line the surface of
an organ
'"/>
Contact: Gerard Nuovo
Nuovo.1@osu.edu
614-293-7853
Ohio State University
7-Jul-2003
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