Transvaginal sonography in patients with pathological cervical exfoliative cytology or histologically verified cervical carcinoma.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of the study was to evaluate whether detection of cervical carcinoma or cervical dysplasia is possible with the use of transvaginal sonography (TVS).


METHODS
TVS was performed in 215 patients with pathological cervical cytology (PAP III-V), suspicious clinical findings or histologically verified carcinoma of the cervix.


RESULTS
Cone biopsy in 54 patients with suspicious cytology and normal cervical features revealed 26 cases of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) 0-II and 19 cases of carcinoma in situ. Sonography failed to detect cervical carcinoma in only nine cases (stages Ia, Ib and IIa). False-positive results of TVS were associated in no cases with CIN 0. In 161 cases with suspicious cervical lesions, 133 invasive cancers and 23 carcinomas in situ were detected. The most striking cytological finding was that 92% of patients with PAP III/IIID and abnormal sonographic signs, and 7% with normal sonographic results and suspicious PAP, had cancer of the cervix uteri.


CONCLUSIONS
We conclude that TVS could be usefully applied to the routine pretreatment evaluation of patients with cervical carcinoma.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Göttingen, Germany.
A
A
Suren
M
M
Dietrich
M
M
Osmers
R
R
Osmers
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001706:Biopsy; D002278:Carcinoma in Situ / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D002584:Cervix Uteri / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014463:Ultrasonography; D002578:Uterine Cervical Dysplasia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D014626:Vaginal Smears