Application of a new liquid-based procedure (TACAS) for the screening of cervical cancer: a preliminary study.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the usefulness of a new liquid-based cytological procedure in a population screening program for cervix cancer.

SUBJECTS AND

METHODS

Subjects were 1,000 women who underwent primary screening at the Kanagawa Health Service Association. The cytological specimens obtained by either cotton stick and Cytobrush® or Cervex-Brush® were processed using the Thinlayer Advanced Cytology Assay System (TACAS™), following the manufacturer's instructions.

RESULTS

(1) Cells were evenly distributed on specimens and stained evenly; (2) shrinkage of cells was 5% based on measurement of the nuclear diameters of granulocytes in comparison with those of the conventional procedure; (3) incidences of cells that occupied the whole area, 1/20≤, 1/4≤, 1/4> of the observation fields were 58.8, 26.2, 12.0 and 3.0%, respectively; (4) number of the squamous cells in cases with 1/4> was <5,000, in which specimen cells were correctly obtained from the squamocolumnar junction except in 3 cases (0.3%); (5) bleeding at cellular sampling was 5%, but did not disturb cell analysis; (6) inflammation caused by organisms was easily diagnosed; (7) detection rate of abnormal cytology was 4.3%, including ASC-US in 2.8% and ASC-H in 0.1%.

CONCLUSION

TACAS is a feasible and useful cytological procedure.