title: Trichomonas, Candida, and gardnerella in cervical smears of Iranian women for cancer screening.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Trichomonas vaginalis, Gardrenella vaginalis, and Candida sp are responsible for 90% of vaginitis which has been reported as important risk factors for cervical cancer.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study aimed to find the prevalence of T. vaginalis, Candida sp, and G. vaginalis in women attended the cancer clinic charity, Babol, Iran and to identify the associated risk factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  This retrospective study carried out from 1996 to July 2012 on women who attended to a cancer screening program at the cancer clinics charity, Babol, Iran. Papanicolaou test and clinical examinations were performed for each woman. In addition to Papanicolaou test results, demographic data were collected. The data were analyzed with X(2) test using SPSS software, version 18.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In total, 2511 out of 33600 (7.5%) cases had vaginal infections. A total of 71 (0.2%), 2248 (6.7%), and 192 (0.6%) of subjects were infected by T. vaginalis, Candida sp, and Gardnerella, respectively. The highest rate of infection was seen in 20-30 and 30-40 years age group. The frequency of vaginal ulcers was higher in trichomoniasis (14.1%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study demonstrated that the prevalence of T. vaginalis, Candida sp, and Gardnerella was low among the studied population. Moreover, malignant cytological alternations were not seen in any infected women.
authors.affiliation: Cellular and Molecular Biology Research Center, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran.
authors.forename: Narges
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kalantari
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology Mycology, Faculty of Medicine, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran.
authors.forename: Salman
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ghaffari
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine Research Center, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran.
authors.forename: Masomeh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bayani
keywords: Candida sp; Gardnerella vaginalis; T. vaginalis; pap smear