Abstract

PALAORO, Luis Alberto  and  ROCHER, Adriana Esther. Atypical Squamous Cells of Undetermined Significance: A subjective cytodiagnosis. Acta bioquím. clín. latinoam. [online]. 2007, vol.41, n.4, pp.511-517. ISSN 0325-2957.

The objective of this paper is to diminish the subjectivity of ASCUS (Atypical Squamous Cells of Undetermined Significance) diagnosis by means of a parameter useful in the prognosis of the pathology. AgNOR technique was applied to 20 cytologic smears from uterine cervix stained by Papanicolaou method and with ASCUS diagnosis: 11 atypical metaplasias, 6 with atypical keratinizing cells related to human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and 3 with regressive changes by estrogen deficiency. The AgNOR area was determined by image cytometry. The mean AgNOR areas were: 6.0 µ², s=1.60 µ² for atypical metaplastic cells, and 0.90 µ², s=1.05 µ² for smears with HPV with atypical keratinizing cells. AgNOR areas were not measurable in the cases of estrogen deficiency. Differences in the mean AgNOR protein areas were tested by Student's test. The cut-off value proposed for smears with atypical metaplastic cells is 4.4 µ² as a limit of progressive lesions. It was not possible to establish a value for cases with atypical keratinizing cells related to HPV because of the low number of smears. In estrogen deficiency, it is advisable to perform the estrogenic stimulus before taking any decision.

Keywords : Argyrophylic organizer nucleolar region; Atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance; Human papillomavirus; Atypical metaplasia.

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