title: Detailed account of confounding factors in interpretation of FTIR spectra of exfoliated cervical cells.
abstract: The confounding variables that can potentially lead to a misinterpretation of FTIR spectroscopy of exfoliated cervical cells is described. A detailed account of the spectral effects of the following variables in FTIR spectroscopic screening of exfoliated cervical cells is presented: polymorphs; Cell degradation; and impurities such as endocervical columnar cells, metaplastic cells, cervical mucus, red cells, and debris. The interpretation of the spectra of exfoliated cervical cells must be done with subtraction analysis, which includes these factors. This is essential to prevent unacceptable false-positive rates. The above techniques are subsequently applied to two clinic populations: a dysplasia clinic in follow-up patients with negative cytology and two general gynecology clinics with patients with negative cytology. In the dysplasia clinic group 250 sequential patients with negative smears were tested. Thirty had false-positive smears as defined by the IR spectroscopy using the above methodology. Twenty of those patients subsequently had one follow-up and six had a positive abnormal smear. In the community clinic group 656 sequential patients were examined who had negative smears, of which 27 had false-positive FTIR spectra.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Immunology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1H 8M5. pwong@uottawa.ca
authors.forename: Patrick T T
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: Mary K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Senterman
authors.forename: Pascale
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jackli
authors.forename: Rita K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: Sylvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Salib
authors.forename: Craig E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.forename: Roman
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Feigel
authors.forename: Wylam
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Faught
authors.forename: Micheal
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fung Kee Fung
mesh_terms: D002584:Cervix Uteri / Q000166:cytology*; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000166:cytology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D012016:Reference Values; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared / Q000379:methods*; D002578:Uterine Cervical Dysplasia / Q000473:pathology; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D014626:Vaginal Smears