Eleven-year review of data on Pap smears in Saudi Arabia: We need more focus on glandular abnormalities!

Abstract

BACKGROUND: We reviewed data from Saudi Arabia on epithelial cell abnormalities (ECA) detected by Pap smear after noticing a slight increase in the incidence of cervical glandular abnormalities in our regional laboratory in recent years. OBJECTIVE: Clarify data on adenocarcinoma (ADCA) on Pap smears in Saudi Arabia. DESIGN: Descriptive, retrospective study. SETTINGS: Regional laboratory, Riyadh. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We reviewed all Pap smears of adult females between 2006 and 2016 and compared our data with previously published results from Saudi Arabia. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Descriptive data on ECAs. RESULTS: Among 19 759 cases, atypical squamous cell of undetermined significance (ASC-US) was the most prevalent ECA (1.16%). ADCA occurred more than squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). In a comparison of published data before 2014 and after 2014 (including ours), there was a significant rise in ADCA (28 vs 48 cases; P=.004) with a significant drop in SCC, high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) and low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSIL) (P