[Cervical biopsy: is the histological diagnosis reliable and reproducible? Utility of p16 INK4A in its achievement].

BACKGROUND

Cervical biopsy is the gold standard method used for diagnosing cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, however, it has being stated a very low diagnostic agreement. Klaes demonstrates that p16 immunohistochemical marker increases from 40 to 97% the diagnostic agreement in cervical intraepithelial neoplasia; due to it, its reliability, sensitivity and specificity to detect any neoplasia variant is 100%.

OBJECTIVE

To know the diagnostic agreement between Mexican pathologists during the study of two cervical intraepithelial neoplasia specimens stained with hematoxylin and eosin, and with p16, respectively.

MATERIAL AND

METHODS

Two cervical biopsies, one stained with hematoxylin and eosin, and the other with p16, where shown to Mexican pathologists in order to express them diagnosis within the four neoplasia variants.

RESULTS

When using hematoxylin and eosin, 52.5% of fragment 1 cases has a CIN 1 diagnosis agreement, and 17.8% of fragment 2 has a CIN 2 diagnosis agreement. In both fragments, almost 100% of biopsies processed with p16 has an agreement.

CONCLUSION

It is clear that in daily practice the diagnostic criteria are in theory known but not correctly applied among pathologists; p16 is a useful, reliable and reproducible technique to establish the right diagnosis.