Article
Significance of a Positive Papanicolaou Smear in a Well Screened Population
Abstract
ABSTRACTOf 35,937 gynecologic cytology specimens obtained from the cervix or vagina at our institute during a three-year period, 18 (0.05%) were reported as malignant; ten to these 18 (56%) positive results were due to carcinoma arising from sites other than the cervix or vagina. The site of the primary lesion was the endometrium in four patients, the ovary in three, the colon in one, and the breast in one; in one patient the site of the primary carcinoma was unknown. In our patient population a positive Papanicolaou smear was more often indicative of a noncervical than a cervical malignancy. In addition to detecting preinvasive and invasive malignancies of the cervix and/or vagina, an annual cytologic smear may hasten the detection of extravaginal primary carcinomas.This content is limited to qualifying members.
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