2022 Volume 36 Issue 5 Pages 701-705
Objectives: One year has passed since the introduction of liquid-based cytology (LBC) for cervical cancer screening in April 2020. We report on our experience with using LBC at our institution by comparison with the traditional method.
Subjects and Methods: We compared cases with the traditional method in FY 2019 (21,502 cases) and those with LBC in FY 2020 (17,706 cases) by dividing them into mass screening and individual screening.
Results: Inadequate specimen rates with the traditional method and LBC were 0.6% and 0.2%, respectively, in mass screening and 1.3% and 0.02%, respectively, in individual screening. The percentages of ASC-US with the traditional method and LBC were 1.6% and 1.4% in mass screening and 2.3% and 2.2% in individual screening. The percentages of NILM with the traditional method and LBC were 97.2% and 97.9% in mass screening and 94.9% and 96.9% in individual screening. The percentages of ASC-H with the traditional method and LBC were 0.1% and 0.1% in mass screening and 0.3% and 0.1% in individual screening. The percentages of LSIL with the traditional method and LBC were 0.1% and 0.2% in mass screening and 0.4% and 0.5% in individual screening. The percentages of HSIL with the traditional method and LBC were 0.3% and 0.1% in mass screening and 0.5% and 0.2% in individual screening. The percentages of cases requiring close examination with the traditional method and LBC were 2.2% and 1.9% in mass screening and 3.8% and 3.1% in individual screening. LBC significantly reduced inadequate specimen rates compared with the traditional method, contributing to reduced workload in specimen handling and microscopic examination.
Conclusions: The introduction of LBC reduced inadequate specimens and the workload of cytotechnologists. It contributed to improving the quality of cytology and was considered to be useful during the COVID-19 pandemic.
