Free Screening Tests And The Randomized Controlled Trial Case Study Case Study Sample

One of the screening methods used for detection of cancerous or pre-cancerous processes in endocervical canal is Papanicolaou test or also known as Pap test. This method like other screening methods uses a sample of cells collected from the cervical canal, to be more exact from endocervix, uterus, and the outer opening of the cervix. Later the sample cells are checked under microscope and in case of any anomalies; it would be much easier to detect the issue. However, the main aim of the test is the detection of cervical dysplasia and/or cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, caused by human papillomaviruses, and by sexual transmission. (Medlineplus, pap smear 2014)
So, the test might have normal or abnormal result. A normal result is when there is no signs of any abnormalities in the cells. But what an abnormal result might be?

LSIL (low-grade dysplasia) or HSIL (high-grade dysplasia)

Atypical glandular cells (AGC)
Atypical squamous cells (ASC)
ASCUS or AGUS
Carcinoma in situ (CIS)
The advantages of the Pap test:
The Pap test can almost detect the most precancerous processes and reduce the cervical cancer death. However. even if in some cases the cancerous cell are not detected, a periodic testing can insure the detection during the later tests. (Pap smear, Risks 2012)

The disadvantages of the Pap test:

The main issue is that Pap test is not a 100% accurate and still some cases of cancer might not be detected, therefore it’s advised to use HPV as a contesting method beside Pap. Therefore, a negative result is not always mean that there are no cancerous cells, as an inadequate amount of cell, small quantity of the abnormal cells, and presence of blood or inflammatory cells can cause a false negative result.(Pap smear, Risks 2012)

References

Pap and HPV Testing. (2014, September 9). Retrieved March 8, 2015, from http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/cervical/pap-hpv-testing-fact-sheet
Pap smear: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia. (2014, November 3). Retrieved March 8, 2015, from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003911.htm
The Pap (Papanicolaou) test. (2014, November 12). Retrieved March 8, 2015, from http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cervicalcancer/moreinformation/cervicalcancerpreventionandearlydetection/cervical-cancer-prevention-and-early-detection-pap-test
Pap smear. (2012, October 31). Retrieved March 8, 2015, from
http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/pap-smear/basics/risks/prc-20013038