Significance of Micronucleus in Cervical Smears – Pilot Study

Aim: Evaluation of the significance of micronuclei (MN) as biomarkers for evaluation the risk of malignant transformation in uterine cervix. MN are intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies from chromatin fragments or whole chromosomes. Their presence in cells is a reflection of chromosomal aberration during cellular mitosis. Patients and methods: MN screening was done in all selected cytopathological smears (conventional Papanicolaou test) by counting 1000 cervical squamous cells with a light microscope at a magnification of 1000x. Results: Comparisons between women with progressive increases in cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and control group. The MN frequencies observed were significantly higher in the groups with cellular changes compared to the control group. Conclusion: The results described that the MN test in cervix smears could be incorporated into routine screening procedures as an additional criterion for early detection of cytopathologocal damage. However, additional detailed, systematic studies are needed to confirm this suggestion.