Profile of Cervical Smear Cytology in Women Attending Health Center in Rural Area of Western Maharashtra

Background: Cervical cancer caused by infection with a sexually transmitted agent human papillomavirus (HPV), can be readily prevented by identifying and treating women with HPVinduced precancerous lesions of the cervix. Objective: To study the profile of cervical smear cytology in rural women in western Maharashtra. Methods: The study was designed to look at the previous reports of the Pap smear present at the health center Pravaranagar in rural area of Western Maharashtra. The reports of 186 smears were analyzed. Results: Maximum numbers of the women (70.43%) were less than 40 years of age. Majority of the women were from lower socio-economic status. There were 29.03 % Pap smears, negative for intraepithelial lesion. Intraepithelial neoplasia of various grade and invasive cervical carcinoma were diagnosed in some cases. Other infections were also detected on Pap smear like bacterial vaginosis, candidial infection and trichomonas vaginalis infestation. Conclusion: An Awareness and education program needs to be implemented to target women about cervical cancer and Pap smear screening. The goal of any screening programme should be to pick up majority of the precursor lesions and not frank cancers; it is desirable to initiate Pap smear screening in women from lower socio-economic status before the 40 years of age.