Screening for Carcinoma of the Uterine Cervix in a V.D. Clinic

Abstract

Early diagnosis of carcinoma of the cervix by cervical smear has been the subject of many papers since the method was first described by Papanicolaou and Traut (1941); and this procedure may lead to the early recognition of the condition of Stage 0 carcinoma, or carcinoma in situ. At this stage, carcinomatous cells are confined to the cervical epithelium, and the only argument has been whether this condition must progress to invasive cancer. Boyes, Fidler, and Locke (1962) surveyed 150,000 women in British Columbia during the years 1949-1959, and produced statistical evidence to suggest that 60 per cent. of such lesions will progress to invasive cancer within 17 years. It was decided to screen all female patients over 25 years of age attending the V.D. Clinic, as is now normal practice in the gynaecological department of this hospital, and the present paper contains the results of cervical scrapes done between January, 1960, and June, 1961.