Turkish Journal of Pathology

Türk Patoloji Dergisi

Turkish Journal of Pathology

Turkish Journal of Pathology

2021, Vol 37, Num, 1     (Pages: 032-038)

Evaluation of the Performance of CinTec® PLUS in SurePathTM Liquid-Based Cervico-Vaginal Samples

Pooja SHARMA 1, Parikshaa GUPTA 1, Nalini GUPTA 1, Vanita SURI 2, Arvind RAJWANSHI 1

1 Department of Cytology and Gynecological Pathology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India
2 Obstetrics and Gynecology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India

DOI: 10.5146/tjpath.2020.01505
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Objective: Cervical cytology and Human papillomavirus (HPV) testing are effective screening techniques but both have limitations. A few recent studies in the literature have highlighted the role of co-expression of p16INK4a and Ki-67 for cervical cancer screening. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the diagnostic performance of the CINtec® PLUS kit (dual immunostaining for p16 and Ki-67) in SurePathTM liquid-based (LBC) cervico-vaginal samples.

Materials and Methods: This was a prospective study performed on 52 cervico-vaginal SurePath™ LBC samples reported as having squamous epithelial cell abnormality (ECA). All the samples were stained using CINtec® PLUS kits. Additionally, HPV-DNA testing was also done and the results were compared.

Results: The age range was 34-74 years. ECA included 18 (34.6%) cases of ASC-US, 9 (17.3%) cases of low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL), 11 (21.2%) cases of high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL), and 14 (26.9%) cases of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Cervical biopsies were available in 19 (36.5%) cases. A total of 34/52 (65.4%) cases were positive for HPV-DNA (5/18-ASC-US; 6/9-LSIL; 10/11-HSIL; 13/14-SCC). The CINtec® PLUS test was positive in 41/52 (78.8%) cases (11/18-ASC-US; 6/9-LSIL; 11/11-HSIL; 13/14-SCC). On comparing CINtec® PLUS positivity (78.8%) with HPV positivity (65.4%), dual positivity was seen in 3/18 cases of ASC-US, 6/9 cases of LSIL, 10/11 cases of HSIL, and 12/14 cases of SCC. One case each of HSIL and SCC was negative on the HPV test and was positive on CINtec® PLUS.

Conclusions: CINtec® PLUS test helps to improve the detection of pre-cancerous cervical lesions as compared to cervical cytology or HPV testing alone and hence can serve as a potentially useful diagnostic and triage tool, especially for indeterminate cases.

Keywords : Cervical cytology, Pap smear, Liquid-based cytology, CINtec PLUS, p16, Ki-67