Cervical Cancer Screening of Adolescents and Young Women: Further Evidence Shows a Lack of Clinical Value

Autor: Gustavo Leme Fernandes, Adriana Bittencourt Campaner
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Zdroj: Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology. 34:6-11
ISSN: 1083-3188
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpag.2020.10.006
Popis: To assess the prevalence of cytological abnormalities among young people from a large population in the city of São Paulo (Brazil).Retrospective, observational analysis of data from the institution's data processing center.A private laboratory in São Paulo (Brazil).Comparison of 3 different groups (ie, adolescent women [aged ≤19 years], young adult women [aged between 20 and 24 years], and adult women [aged 25 years and older]).Assessment of results from all cervical-vaginal smears collected for cytology between January 2010 and December 2015.Comparative analysis of cytological abnormalities in the 3 different groups.A total of 1,026,671 satisfactory cytology tests were performed. The proportion of cytological abnormalities was found to decrease with age (P .001) and was similar in the groups comprised of adolescents and young adults, with 3.405/ 20.921 (16.3%) and 13,635/ 78,277 (17.4%), respectively, and 74,320/ 927,473 (8.0%) in the group of adult patients (P .001). Among the positive cytologies in the group of adolescents, 3,331/ 3,405 (97.8%) represented low-grade lesions and 74/ 3,405 (2.2%) high-grade lesions, whereas among adults older than 25 years old, these figures were 69,092/ 74.320 (93%) and 5,228/ 74.320 (6.9%), respectively. No cases of cancer were found in the group of adolescents.Cytological screening of young people is not recommended because of the low prevalence of high-grade cytological abnormalities in this population, with cancer being a rare event. This inadvertent screening could lead to unnecessary complementary exams and overtreatment, which could compromise the reproductive future of these young women.
Databáze: OpenAIRE