The importance of Pap smear as cytological screening methods

Objectives: The Papanicolaou cervical cytology test is capable of detecting cervical cancer at an early stage and is used widely in developed countries, where it has decreased both the incidence and mortality of cervical cancer. It is recommended for all women of reproductive age. Pap testing seems not to have a clear impact on the risk of cervical cancer at young age, especially considering women aged under 25. This study was undertaken to evaluate the prevalence of cervical precancerous and cancer pick up by single pap smear test. A prospective study of pap smear test of three years duration 2015-2017 in Obstetrics and Gynecology department in Macedonia. The patients are in the age group of active reproductive period (21-40 yr). Methods: Pap test is a procedure that takes a few minutes and involves taking cells from the opening of the cervix in order to verify if they are normal. It involves exfoliating cells from the transformation zone of the cervix to enable examination of these cells microscopically for detection of cancerous or precancerous lesions. Resuts: This study shows that routine pap smear screening in patients attending gynecological OPD is the good method of detecting precancerous cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) lesion and early cervical cancer. Conclusions: Absence of screening in this age group may miss these high-grade cervical lesions that could progress to cervical cancer in the near future