A Correlative Study Between Cervical Cytology and Biopsy Cervix.

Carcinoma Cervix Is One Of The Leading Causes Of Death Of Female Population In Developing Countries. By Virtue Of Its Accessibility, Cancer Of Cervix Can Be Readily Diagnosed Even In Its Preinvasive Stage. If Treated In The Earlier Stages The Patient Can Often Be Cured Of The Disease. For Each Case Of Cancer Of Body Of The Uterus, There Are 25 Cases Of Cancer Cervix In India. A Close Quarters Observation On The Social Behavior Of Our Society Reveals That Most Of The Women Have Their Marriages At Very Early Part Of Their Life Leading To Early Age At First Intercourse And Poor Sexual Hygiene Which Are Considered To Be Important Etiological Factors For Cervical Carcinoma. George Papanicolaou M.D., Ph.D. After Whom The Pap Smear Is Named Laid The Foundation For Preventive Medicine At Its Best. He Correctly Estimated Cytology As An Infant Science Destined To Become A Titan. In The Same Way There Were So Many Modifications Made In The Method Of Collection Of Specimen, Techniques And Methods Of Staining, Interpretation And Follow Up. The Primary Purpose Of Cervical Cytology Is To Screen The Population And Identify The Patients Who Have An Abnormal Pap Smear. It Has Been The Corner Stone Of Cancer Cervix Screening For Almost 50 Years. Despite Its Enormous Success As Preventive Screening Tool For Cancer Cervix, The Conventional Pap Smear Has Its Limitations. In The Recent Past, There Has Been Emergence Of Various Newer Techniques To Assess The Proliferative Capacity Of Cells. This Has Been An Important Criterion To Assess The Malignant Behaviour Of Cells. Various Techniques Are Available Like DNA Content Analysis, ‘S’ Phase Fraction Calculation By Means Of DNA Cytometry, Proliferating Antigens Like C3, F10, DNA Polymerase-2, Ki67 And PCNA. But These Techniques Are Expensive And Can Be Carried Out In Some Sophisticated Diagnostic Research Centers. A Simple And Inexpensive Method Is The Staining And Counting Of The Nucleolar Organizer Regions. This Is Based On RNA Transcription Activity. Silver Colloidal Solutions Of High Concentration Have Been Used For This Purpose And This Is Called Agnor Stain. The Number Of Agnors In A Cell Nucleus Reflects The Proliferative Activity Of The Cell With Progressive Increase In Number From Normal Cells To Dysplastic And Carcinomatous Cells. Agnor In Cervical Cytology Has Also Been Studied. Agnor Though Expensive, The Single Step Technique And Ease, Which It Can Be Done, Is Very Impressive. Pap Though Less Expensive Than Agnor Is A Cumbersome Procedure With Lot Of Chemicals Involved. The Definitive Diagnosis Of The Patient’s Condition Rests On The Follow Up Histologic Evidence From The Biopsy Material. Histologic Diagnosis Is Frequently Used As A Gold Standard Against Which We Calculate The Accuracy Of Cytologic Diagnosis. Along With Routine Haemotoxylin And Eosin Staining In Histopathological Sections, Agnor Stain Can Be Used. Studying The Number, Shape And Distribution Of Agnor Dots In The Cell Gives Information Not Only About The Morphology, But Also About The Behaviour Of The Cells. It Is Useful In Differentiating Doubtful Cases Of CIN. Agnor Count Also Has Prognostic Significance. CIN Lesions With Low Agnor Counts Are More Likely To Regress In Comparison To CIN Lesions With High Agnor Count. So It Can Be Used As An Adjunct To Routine Cytology And Histopathology For Diagnosis Of Cervical Lesions In Doubtful Cases. Hence The Present Study Has Been Carried Out With An Attempt To Correlate Findings Between Cervical Cytology And Histopathological Finding Of Biopsy Cervix Using Pap Stain & Agnor Stain In Cervical Cytology And Using H&E & Agnor Stain In Histopathological Sections