title: Preliminary study of a new, fully automated system for liquid-based cytology: the NovaPrep® processor system.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate a fully automated system for liquid-based cytology (LBC): the NovaPrep® Processor System (NPS), which is based on the new concept of double decantation, versus conventional cytology (CC), the gold standard for cytology.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed a preliminary comparative study involving 1,129 female patients who underwent sampling for a Pap test; the sample was first smeared for CC and then, using the remaining specimen on the brush, for LBC with the NPS. The performances of CC and NPS were evaluated for accuracy and compared using the gold standard of a combination of one of the two methods of pathological cytology with screening for positive human papilloma virus, quantification of cells (normal and pathological), and improvement in the quality of samples and reading time.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results showed improvement in sensitivity (3.81% for CC vs. 4.52% for NPS) with a specificity superior to 90% for both, a markedly decreased number of unsatisfactory specimens, notably samples containing too many inflamed cells (7.4% for CC vs. 0.5% for NPS), and a shortening of the reading time, which was three times less using NPS.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This preliminary study showed a gain in sensitivity, a drop in the number of unsatisfactory specimens and a reduction in reading time with NPS. The results achieved using this fully automated LBC procedure are very promising and will hopefully reduce the overall cost of cervical cancer screening in the future.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Hospital Universitario San Cecilio, Granada, Spain. javieres@ugr.es
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Esquivias López-Cuervo
authors.forename: Estanislao
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Montalbán Beltran
authors.forename: Jose Luis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Cuadros Lopez
authors.forename: Angeles
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alonso Castillo
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nieto Sanchez
mesh_terms: D057205:Automation, Laboratory; D003584:Cytological Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D014626:Vaginal Smears / Q000379:methods*