Mass screening for cancer of the cervix

Particularly on significance of cytological examination

Abstract

Studies were made on the variation in the rate of detection of patients with cervic cancer due to the difference in the method of the mass screening for cervic cancer in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. The results of the studies were published in the present paper. The studies were made statistically on the differences in the results obtained from the screening which was chiefly focused on macrosco pical and histological examinations in 1969 and that focused on cytological, corposcopical and histolo gical examinations in 1971.
1) There was a significant difference in the detection of patients with cancer between 16 cases of cancer detected chiefly by histological examina tion in 1968 and 88 cases detected by cytological examination in 1971 with the detection of more cases of cancer in the latter group with P=0.1%. This fact evidently shows that the cytological examination is superior to the macroscopical examination or histological examination.
2) In the mass screening by the macroscopical and histological examinations, more cases of cancer were detected from among the cases with cervical erosion. When compared with the mass screening by the cytological examination, it is evident that the rate of detection of cancer from among the cases without cervical erosion is larger than the other screening method with P=5%. In other words, the cytological examination in the mass screening helps detecting cancerous patients from among those without the symptom of cervical erosion.
3) In detecting patients with cancer on the basis of the presence or absence of abnormal hemorrhage in the genital organs, more cancerous patients can be found by the cytological examination from among the cases without symptoms and with subjective symptoms. Among the cases detected in 1968 and 1971, a greater number of cases in the former showed the symptom of abnormal hemorrhage in the genital organs, whereas in the latter group asymptomatical cases were prevalent with P=2%.
4) A comparison between the cases of cancer at early stage and infiltrating cancer revealed a larger number of the cases of cancer at early stage in the group of the cytological examination with P=2%.
5) In the mass screening for cancer of the cervix conducted in 1971, 298 cases of 32, 213 who received the examination were revealed as over Class III by the cytological examination. Of these 298 cases, 77 cases were judged as Class IV, and 23 cases as Class V. From among these cases judged as over Class III by the cytological examination, 88 cases of cancer of the cervix were detected.