title: Atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance in postmenopausal women: a comparative retrospective analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the outcomes of women with a diagnosis of atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS) with respect to menopausal status.
  
  
  METHODS
  Between October 2006 and March 2010, the data of 214 postmenopausal women with ASCUS results on Pap smear were evaluated. Sociodemographic data and histopathological results were compared with those of 1018 premenopausal women with ASCUS cytology.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At the final diagnosis, most histological findings were normal in pre- and postmenopausal women with ASCUS cytology (70% and 70.1%, respectively). In the premenopausal group, 23.1% of the women had cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia (CIN) 1 lesions and 6.7% had CIN 2/3 lesions. Similarly, CIN 1 and CIN 2/3 lesions were detected in 23.4% and 6.1% of postmenopausal women, respectively. No significant difference in the final diagnosis was found between the two groups (p=0.88). Two premenopausal women (0.2%) and one postmenopausal woman (0.5%) had micro-invasive cervical carcinoma. There were no cases of invasive carcinoma in either group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  According to this study, the rates of pre-invasive and micro-invasive cervical carcinoma were similar in pre- and postmenopausal women with ASCUS cytology.
authors.affiliation: Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Haseki Teaching and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey. bpgoksedef@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Behiye Pinar Cilesiz
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Goksedef
authors.forename: Ozgur
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Akbayir
authors.forename: Safak Yilmaz
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Baran
authors.forename: Gulden Yanik
authors.initials: GY
authors.lastname: Turan
authors.forename: Gonca Kolukfaki
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Batmaz
authors.forename: Hakan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Guraslan
authors.forename: Aytul
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Corbacioglu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001706:Biopsy; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching; D006801:Humans; D008499:Medical Records; D008875:Middle Aged; D060787:Neoplasm Grading; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D065006:Papanicolaou Test; D017698:Postmenopause; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D017697:Premenopause; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D014626:Vaginal Smears; D002578:Uterine Cervical Dysplasia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology