Turkish Journal of Pathology

Türk Patoloji Dergisi

Turkish Journal of Pathology

Turkish Journal of Pathology

2013, Vol 29, Num, 3     (Pages: 171-178)

Predictive Value of Micronucleus Count in Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia and Carcinoma

Marie Moses AMBROISE 1, Kanchana BALASUNDARAM 1, Manjiri PHANSALKAR 1

1 Department of Pathology, Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), PUDUCHERRY, INDIA

DOI: 10.5146/tjpath.2013.01183
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Objective: A micronucleus is a small additional nucleus formed due to chromosomal loss or fragmentation. The aim of this study was to assess the utility of micronucleus count as a screening tool in cervical cancer.

Material and Method: A total of 132 cases consisting of 42 pre-neoplastic and neoplastic cases and 90 non-neoplastic cases were studied. Only routine Papanicolaou-stained cervical smears were used. In each smear, the number of micronucleated cells and binucleated cells were counted under oil immersion and expressed as a count per 1,000 cells. The micronucleated and binucleated cell counts in pre-neoplastic, neoplastic and non-neoplastic categories were compared for statistical significance. The counts were also correlated with age, duration of marital life, number of pregnancies and abortions.

Results: The micronucleus count and the binucleated cell count were significantly higher in the high -grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL) and invasive carcinoma categories compared to low -grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL) and non-neoplastic cases. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis revealed that micronucleus count and binucleated cell count possess a high degree of sensitivity and specificity for identifying HSIL and invasive carcinoma.

Conclusion: Our results reveal that micronucleus evaluation in routine Pap smears is a very useful biomarker in cervical cancer screening. The binucleated cell count increases the predictive value of this simple test.

Keywords : Micronucleus tests, Uterine cervical neoplasms, Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, Vaginal smear