Comparison and correlation of VIA and Pap smear in detection of precancerous cervical lesions

Introduction: Cervical cancer is a huge emotional and financial burden on society. To curb the disease, there is a need to develop a screening test that has good sensitivity and specificity. The present study is aimed to compare the effectiveness of the Pap smear, Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid (VIA) for mass screening of premalignant and malignant lesions of the cervix. Aims and objectives: 1. To screen women of 30-45 yrs. for precancerous or cancerous lesions of the cervix with VIA and Pap smear. 2. To compare and correlate the findings of Pap smear and VIA in detecting precancerous lesions of cervix. Material and Methods: This was a prospective observational study conducted from 01/01/2015 in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology among 200 women of 30-45 yrs. of age group. Pap smear was performed by the conventional method and VIA was carried out for all. Results: The study group consisting of 200 women, 69% women were VIA negative and 31% were VIA positive. Out of 69% VIA negative patients pap results were supporting its interpretation as all pap tests were negative for precancerous and cancerous lesions of cervix. Out of VIA positive patients 66% were NILM and 34% were LSIL OR HSIL. Conclusion: These results establish VIA as an effective screening test for cancerous and precancerous conditions of the cervix and thus VIA can be implemented as a single primary screening method.