Screening For Cervical Carcinoma By VIA

IntroductionCervical malignancy is amongst the most common malignancies that affect women. It has a long precancerous stage providing tremendous scope for early diagnosis and treatment. Though directed biopsy is the gold standard for diagnosis, and Papinacolou staining (Pap Smear) is currently the most effective screening method, both require an expensive and expertise demanding setup. In developing countries where such provisions are limited, an economical and easier effective alternative is desirable. Onesuch method is visual inspection of cervix with acetic acid (VIA Test). Study designOne year prospective study was carried out at Government Lalla Ded hospital Srinagar from June 2006 to May 2007 in which 1000 married, sexually active women attending gynecology OPD were screened for cervical disease using VIA as the screening tool. All women were further subjected to colposcopy and selected cases further underwent directed cervical biopsy. ResultsAmong the 1000 women screened, 170(17%) tested VIA positive. Most of these were from rural areas (87.6%), multipara (para3 and above were 91.7%) and of low socio-economic class (65.8%) with average age less than 20 years in (62.9%). From the VIA positive group 98(58%) women on further screening by colposcopy had abnormal findings as well and 72(42%) had no colposcopic findings.Women with abnormal colposcopy and positive VIA results were further evaluated with directed biopsy. 35(36%) out of 98 VIA and colposcopy positive women had abnormal histopathology findings on directed biopsy. ConclusionIna resource limited setting,VIA can be used as a good alternative for screening women for cervical cancer