Clinical significance of atypical squamous cells cannot exclude high grade squamous intraepithelial lesion with histologic correlation-: a 9-year experience

Predictors of CIN2+ in Patients with PAP III-P (ASC-H): A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: This study aims to investigate whether specific characteristics of the patient group with ASC-H (PAP III-p) findings increase the likelihood of clinically significant disease (CIN2+), offering implications for risk-adapted clinical management. Methods: 225 patients with an ASC-H smear presenting to our colposcopy unit between 2014 and 2021 were identified and examined retrospectively. A total of 203 patients were included in the cross-sectional study using multivariate logistic regression. Results: Of the 12 variables that entered the regression model, transformation zone (p = 0.045) and HPV infection (p = 0.005) contributed significantly to predicting CIN2+. A T3 transformation zone had a protective effect, reducing the likelihood of significant pathology. Infection with HPV high risk (non 16/18) or HPV high risk (16/18), on the contrary, increased the likelihood of CIN2+ four times and seven times, respectively, compared to the lower-risk category. Conclusion: A differential approach in the workup of ASC-H cytology is advisable. Younger, premenopausal patients with positive HPV high-risk findings are at a significantly higher risk for CIN2+ lesions than older postmenopausal women with negative high-risk HPV test results. As the risk increases from HPV high-risk non 16/18 to HPV 16/18 infections, using HPV PCR testing is advisable.

High-risk HPV testing improves accuracy in detection of CIN2+ lesions in ASC-H postmenopausal women? An academic hospital experiences

Reflex human papilloma virus (HPV) testing with "atypical squamous cells, cannot exclude high-grade squamous lesion (ASC-H)" cytologic diagnosis is not recommended by American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology guidelines. Studies have shown human papillomavirus (HPV)-negative ASC-H patients of increased age are low risk for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 2 or worse (CIN2+) lesions on colposcopic follow-up. We retrospectively assessed the efficacy of reflex HPV testing in postmenopausal women with ASC-H in the Los Angeles County hospitals and clinics in a 5-year period. Of a total 85 clinically postmenopausal women with ASC-H, 31 (36.5%) women were found to have CIN2+ lesions on follow-up biopsy and five of them were HPV-negative. Of the women with CIN2+ lesions and positive HPV, 13 (41.9%) were high-risk HPV (hrHPV) 16/18/45 positive and 13 (41.9%) were hrHPV-other subtype positive. Women with positive HPV had an over 3-fold increased risk of developing CIN2+ lesions (P = 0.008). Relative risk of hrHPV16/18/45 was 1.79-fold higher than that of hrHPV-other subtype. The positive predictive value and negative predictive value of hrHPV were 49.1% and 84.4%, respectively. CIN2+ detection rate in Hispanic women with positive hrHPV was higher than in non-Hispanic women (53.8% versus 35.7%). Overall, postmenopausal women with ASC-H cytology result and negative hrHPV were less likely to develop CIN2+ lesions, whereas about half of ASC-H postmenopausal women develop CIN2+ lesions if hrHPV positive, especially if hrHPV 16/18/45 positive. Therefore, triaging ASC-H postmenopausal women with cotesting or, ideally, hrHPV genotyping should be considered as optimal clinical practice to avoid overtreatment.

ASCUS (Atypical Squamous Cells of Undetermined Significance) in the Cervical Smears of Women from Rural Population of Lucknow West

Background

Though Atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS) are not always precursors of cervical pre-malignancy but they need timely diagnosis and careful periodical follow-up.

Aim

The present study was carried out to investigate the incidence of ASCUS and SIL (squamous intraepithelial lesion of cervix) in women under rural setting.

Materials and Methods

Cervical cancer screening is in progress in rural population of West Lucknow, India, since May 2013 under auspices of Era's Lucknow Medical College and Hospital, Lucknow, and a total of 2478 women have been cytologically examined till October 2017.

Results

The incidence of ASCUS was found to be 8.8%, which was approximately less than half of the squamous intraepithelial lesions of cervix (SIL) rate (17.9%). The ASCUS rate was higher in the symptomatic women (9.4%) than (7.4%) seen in women without symptoms. The ASCUS incidence was higher in younger sexually active group up to 40 years after which it declined. The ASCUS rate was higher in all parity groups and was commonly associated with pain in lower abdomen and vaginal discharge. The ASCUS rate was higher with erosion cervix, while the commonly associated sexually transmitted diseases (STD) were found to be Candida albicans (2.4%). Follow-up after 18-24 months was available in 40 cases of ASCUS, and progression to low-grade SIL (LSIL) was seen in 7 (17.5%) and to high-grade SIL (HSIL) in one case (2.5%).

Conclusion

The findings suggest that the ASCUS are not always precursors of SIL, but they need periodical follow-up after every 6 months. This will be ideal management of ASCUS under low-resource settings.

Colposcopic and Histological Outcome of Atypical Squamous Cells of Undetermined Significance and Atypical Squamous Cell of Undetermined Significance Cannot Exclude High-Grade in Women Screened for Cervical Cancer

Objectives:

The objectives of the study are to assess the prevalence of colposcopic and histological abnormalities in patients diagnosed with ASCUS and ASC-H and to compare the prevalence of CIN in each group.

Methods:

Population-based cross-sectional retrospective study was conducted in one of tertiary hospitals in UAE. All cervical smears reported as ASCUS or ASC-H in 2015 were included in this study. The local guideline in 2015 was to refer all cases of ASC for colposcopy assessment.

Results:

Overall 7,418 cervical smears were processed at our laboratory service, 5.6% (n=413) were reported as ASC. 95% of them (n=394) were ASCUS and 5% (n=19) were ASC-H. The overall prevalence of high grade CIN in patients with ASC-H is 26% compared with 0.8% for patients with ASCUS regardless the age. The relative risk of patients with ASC-H is 8 folds higher than patients with ASCUS to have low grade CIN but 29 fold higher risk of having High grade CIN and the P value =0.0001.

Conclusion:

ASC-H cytology confers a substantially higher risk for high grade CIN than ASCUS regardless of age. HPV test is an important triage test in patients with ASCUS to predict cellular changes and CIN.

Histopathology of Women with “Atypical Squamous Cells Cannot Exclude High-Grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesion” (ASC-H) Smears

Objectives: To evaluate prevalence of underlying significant pathologies among women with cervical smears rated as ‘atypical squamous cells cannot exclude high grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (ASC-H)’, as well as associated risk factors. Methods: Medical records were reviewed of all consecutive women with ASC-H smears who had undergone colposcopy at Srinagarind Hospital from January 2008 to July 2016. Significant pathology results included cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) 2-3, adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS), endometrial hyperplasia, and cancer of any original site. Result: During the study period, 133 women with ASC-H were reviewed. The mean age was 45.3 years (range 21-72). The histopathologic results for the 133 women were as follows: no lesions (58; 43.6%), CIN 1 (34; 25.6%), CIN 2-3 (33; 24.8%), AIS (2; 1.5%), and cervical cancer (6; 4.5%). The overall rate of significant pathology was 30.8% (95% confidence interval, 22.9%-38.8%). Women younger than 40 years old carried a higher risk of harboring significant lesions when compared to older women (41.7% versus 27.8%, respectively). There was no significant impact of parity and menopausal status on the risk of significant pathology results. Conclusion: The rate of significant histopathologies among women with ASC-H smears in this study was approximately 31% and the associated risk factor was patient age.

Atypical Squamous Cells: Cytopathological Findings and Correlation with HPV Genotype and Histopathology

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to assess potential associations between atypical squamous cell (ASC) subgroups: ASC-US (undetermined significance) and ASC-H (cannot exclude high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion), regarding cytomorphological features, high-risk (HR) human papillomavirus (HPV) testing, and histological outcomes in a sample of Brazilian women.

STUDY DESIGN

Cross-sectional study which evaluated 1,346 liquid-based cytologies between January 2010 and July 2016 with ASC results. ASC-US and ASC-H were analyzed for frequency, diagnostic criteria, and cytological findings and compared with HR-HPV tests and histological outcomes.

RESULTS

Enlarged nucleus was the most frequent ASC-US criterion, but alternative criteria were present in 20% of the total cases. No ASC-US criteria were associated with histological outcomes or HR-HPV positivity. Parakeratosis, corneal pearl, giant cells, and binucleation were strongly associated with ASC-US while hyperkeratosis was associated with high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) or a superior outcome. HR-HPV was positive in 64.39% of ASC-US and 65.38% of ASC-H. HSIL or superior outcomes also occurred in 13.33% of ASC-US and 64.71% of ASC-H cases.

CONCLUSION

Alternative criteria for ASC-US were relatively frequent. Reactive cellular changes suggestive of atypias were more abundant in ASC-US. Although ASC-H is associated with worse histological outcomes, no differences in HPV positivity were found in comparison to ASC-US.

Clinical Relevance of ASC-H Cytologies: Experience in a Single Tertiary Hospital

OBJECTIVES

To review the cases of atypical squamous cells (ASC), cannot exclude squamous intraepithelial lesion (ASC-H) diagnosed at a single institution and to discuss the interpretation challenges and clinical management of these cases.

STUDY DESIGN

The ASC-H cases diagnosed at our institution from 2006 to 2015 were studied retrospectively; of 159,000 Pap smears, there were 959 cases of ASC of undetermined significance (ASC-US) and 148 cases of ASC-H. We have reviewed the clinical records of the ASC-H cases, and data have been analyzed using SPSS 20.0.

RESULTS

Median age was 43.1 years; 49.6% of the patients had previous cervical cytologies, and 55.9% of them were negative. Following ASC-H diagnosis, another smear was obtained in 97.1% of the cases and in 67.6% a biopsy was performed. Biopsy revealed low-grade dysplasia in 18.8% of the cases, high-grade dysplasia in 27.8%, and infiltrating carcinoma in 2.3%. Patients with significant lesions in histology were younger than patients with negative results (p = 0.08). A diagnosis of ASC-H/squamous intraepithelial lesion in the repeated cytology had a sensitivity of 74.2%, specificity of 39.6%, positive predictive value of 44.8%, and negative predictive value of 70% for the diagnosis of dysplasia.

CONCLUSIONS

ASC-H diagnosis is associated with a high incidence of histological high-grade lesions. A repeat cytology can aid in the selection of high-risk patients, but there may be false-negative results.

HPV testing results and histologic follow-up in women with ASC-H cytology in different age groups

INTRODUCTION

Assessment on human papillomavirus (HPV) testing and disease outcome of atypical squamous cell, cannot exclude high grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (ASC-H) in different age groups is limited in published reports. We reviewed our experience over a 5-year period on ASC-H cytology and correlated age distribution with high-risk HPV (HR-HPV) status and histological follow-up in a large cohort study.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Women with ASC-H cytology were retrieved from the hospital database. HR-HPV status and histological diagnoses on cervical biopsy or loop electrosurgical excisional procedure specimens were reviewed and correlated to 5 age groups.

RESULTS

Ages of women with ASC-H ranged from 16 to 88 years, with 42% women <30 years and 58% women >30 years. Among 647 cases diagnosed as ASC-H, 96% (618) had HR-HPV testing results, including 68.2% HR-HPV positive and 31.8% HR-HPV negative. HR-HPV positivity of ASC-H gradually decreased from 95.2% in women <20 years to 40.6% in the age group >51 years. Histologic follow-ups were available for review in 80% (517) of the cases. Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, grade 2 or higher (CIN2+) lesions were found in 40.3% (208) cases, including 92.9% women with HR-HPV-positive/ASC-H and 7.1% of women with HR-HPV-negative/ASC-H. The detection rate of CIN2+ by ASC-H gradually decreased from 51.2% in women <20 years to 18.2% in women >51 years. The majority of postmenopausal women with HR-HPV-negative/ASC-H had atrophy-related change.

CONCLUSIONS

The specificity of ASC-H cytology in detection of cervical CIN2+ lesions is age-dependent: higher in younger women <30 years, but gradually decreased in women >30 years. The vast majority (93%) of CIN2+ lesions were seen women with HR-HPV-positive/ASC-H. HR-HPV testing improves the accuracy and specificity in women with ASC-H in almost all age groups, especially in age groups older than 40 years.

Reflex Human Papillomavirus Test Results as an Option for the Management of Korean Women With Atypical Squamous Cells Cannot Exclude High-Grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesion

BACKGROUND

Current guidelines recommend initial colposcopy with biopsy regardless of human papillomavirus (HPV) test results in women with atypical squamous cells, cannot exclude high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (ASC-H). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the value of HPV testing in women with ASC-H based on colposcopic pathology results.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A multicenter cross-sectional study was carried out at three academic hospitals and involved 40,847 Korean women who underwent cervical cancer screening with cytology and HPV tests with or without subsequent colposcopic biopsies between January 2007 and December 2013.

RESULTS

ASC-H was diagnosed in 276 women (0.7%). Only 6 of 68 (8.8%) women with ASC-H who were HPV negative had cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade ≥2 (CIN ≥2) lesions, whereas 47.4% of the women with ASC-H who were HPV positive had CIN ≥2 lesions. No cases of invasive cervical cancer were diagnosed among women with ASC-H who were HPV negative. Logistic regression analysis was performed using the group with normal Papanicolaou test results and HPV-negative status as the reference group. Women with ASC-H who were HPV positive had a significantly increased risk of CIN ≥2 lesions, whereas no significant increase was observed in patients with ASC-H and HPV-negative status.

CONCLUSION

If the result of the HPV test was negative, the risk of CIN ≥2 lesions in Korean women with ASC-H cytology was low. Reflex HPV testing should be an option for the management of women with cytology showing ASC-H to decrease unnecessary colposcopic biopsies, which are expensive and invasive.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

Current American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology guidelines recommend universal colposcopy for the management of women with atypical squamous cells, cannot exclude high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (ASC-H) on cytology, regardless of human papillomavirus (HPV) test results. The present study suggested that HPV cotesting in patients with ASC-H cytology can provide more detailed and useful information regarding the risk of high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) lesions and the need for further treatment. When the result of the HPV test was negative, the risk of CIN lesions of grade ≥2 in women with ASC-H cytology was low. Consequently, reflex HPV testing, rather than immediately performance of invasive and expensive colposcopy with biopsy, should be an option for the management of women with ASC-H.

Diagnostic performance of p16 staining in atypical squamous cells 'cannot exclude high-grade squamous epithelial lesion' in predicting high-grade cervical pathology

Atypical squamous cells 'cannot exclude high-grade squamous epithelial lesion' (ASC-H) cytology represents clear risk and has been a controversial issue in clinical practice. The objective of this study is to investigate the diagnostic performance of p16(INK4A) immunohistochemistry (IHC) among ASC-H Pap smears in predicting high-grade cervical intraepithelial lesions. Decolourisation and staining process with p16(INK4A) is applied to 27 ASC-H diagnosed conventional Pap smears, which were all managed with colposcopy-directed cervical biopsy priorly. Staining characteristics of ASC-H Pap smears were compared with histopathological data and sensitivity-specificity values of p16 triage to detect CIN2 + histopathology were determined. The sensitivity and specificity of positive p16(INK4A) immune staining to detect CIN2 + histopathology were as 87.5% and 68%, respectively. The positive predictive value of p16 triage is found as 53.8% and negative predictive value was as 92.8%. p16(INK4A) IHC seems applicable for conventional Pap smears and may provide an alternative triage option in ASC-H category.

Clinical significance of HPV DNA cotesting in Korean women with ASCUS or ASC-H

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical significance of Human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA cotesting in Korean women with abnormal Papanicolaou (Pap) smear results based on colposcopic pathology. A total of 1012 women underwent liquid-based Pap smears and hybrid capture II HPV DNA tests followed by colposcopy at the Korea University Hospital from January 2007 to May 2012. Of these women, 832 women were included in this retrospective study. The mean patient age was 45.4 ± 13.7 years (range:15-80). The distribution of Pap smear results was normal (4.7%), atypical squamous cells of uncertain significance (ASCUS) (42.1%), low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (26.8%), ASC-H (7.0%), and high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL) (19.5%). In women with ASCUS, none of the 87 HPV-negative had ≥cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN2) (P < 0.001). In women with ASC-H, only one out of 17 HPV-negative vs. 14 out of 41 HPV-positive had ≥CIN2 (P = 0.025). In patients with HSIL, 54.5% of HPV-negative had ≥CIN2, as compared to 80.8% of HPV-positive with ≥CIN2 (P = 0.039). Patients were further analyzed by age groups: <30 and ≥30 years. In HPV-negative women, there was a significant difference in the ratio of ≥CIN2 (30.8% <30 vs. 4.5% ≥30, P = 0.005). When the HPV DNA test was negative in women ≥30, the risk of ≥CIN2 was significantly lower (P < 0.001). HPV DNA cotesting in women with ASCUS and ASC-H furnish healthcare providers with informative data. There is a lower proportion of ≥CIN2 in HPV-negative women and a higher proportion of ≥CIN2 in HPV-positive. When HPV data were further evaluated by age group, the risk of ≥CIN2 was lower in HPV-negative women, especially in women ≥30.