Does the interval between papanicolaou tests influence the quality of cytology?
Jeronimo J; Khan MJ; Schiffman M; Solomon D; Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Rockville, Maryland 20892, USA. guibovij@mail.nih.gov BACKGROUND: It is commonly believed that the sensitivity of Papanicolaou (Pap) tests decreases with a short interval between cytology samplings. To the authors’ knowledge, there is only limited evidence to support this belief. METHODS: For 5055 women in the Atypical Squamous Cells of Undetermined Significance (ASCUS)-Low Grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesion (LSIL) Triage Study (ALTS), the Pap interval was defined as the number of days between the referral Pap smear demonstrating ASCUS or LSIL (“first cytology”) and the enrollment liquid-based (“repeat”) cytology. The authors investigated the influence of the interval between Pap smears on repeat cytology by examining percentages of abnormal findings, cellularity, and test sensitivity among women
