Chiang YC, et al. – The impact of age, screening interval, and histologic type on the impact of Pap smears in cervical cancer screening is assessed in this study. The outcome of this study suggests Pap smear is more successful in screening for cervical squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) compared to cervical adenocarcinomas (ADCs). Improving adherence to screening suggestions is vital for the prevention of cervical SCC, particularly in elderly women.

Methods

• For this research, they conducted a nationwide cohort study.
• For the period from 2002 to 2010, information was retrieved from the Taiwan National Cancer Registry and Cervical Cancer Screening Registration System.
• They further investigated the age, Pap smear interval, FIGO stage, and histology.

Results

• In this study, a total of 12,294 women with cervical cancer were selected.
• Out of these 12294 women, 10,040 with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), 1720 with adenocarcinoma (ADC), 401 with adenosquamous carcinoma (ASC), and 133 with small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (SMC) were enrolled.
• Women who had a Pap smear at an interval of <3 years had a significantly higher proportion of stage I disease than women who had never undergone cervical cancer screening (p < 0.0001).
• More than 40% of women with SCCs in each age group had never had a Pap smear; however, women with ADCs were predominantly in the younger age and greater than 40% of women with ADCs had Pap smear at intervals < 3 years.