Screening and diagnostic modalities in carcinoma cervix: A Pathologist's perspective.

  • Harsh Mohan Professor and Head, Department of Pathology, Government Medical College and Hospital, Chandigarh
  • Reetu Kundu
Keywords: Carcinoma cervix, Pap smear, Liquid based cytology, Human papilloma virus, Screening,

Abstract

Carcinoma cervix is the second most common cancer among women worldwide with majority of cases in the developing nations. It develops over a considerable period of time through precursor lesions that are amenable to detection when properly screened. A sea change has occurred in the detection and further the management of cervical cancer with the advances in the field of diagnostics. The orchestra ranges from the conventional Papanicolaou (Pap) test to high throughout expression profiling. The discovery of human papilloma virus (HPV) as the etiologic agent with recognition of various high risk types prompted the development of techniques for HPV detection. Several biomarkers have been recognized although many of them still require validation before they can be put to use at a large scale. Efforts directed at early detection of carcinoma cervix are desired for reducing incidence rates for carcinoma cervix. This review highlights the screening guidelines and the entire available armamentarium which can be applied to screen and diagnose cervical cancer at an early stage. However it can be foreseen that the etiology based testing is unlikely to replace cytology as a screening modality although it will remain a useful adjunct. This is especially true for the developing countries which are resource poor where cost-effective Pap test continues to be main method. 

Author Biography

Harsh Mohan, Professor and Head, Department of Pathology, Government Medical College and Hospital, Chandigarh
Professor and Head, Department of Pathology,Government Medical College and Hospital, Chandigarh

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Published
2014-09-28
Section
Review Article
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