title: Clinical significance of histiocytes found on cervical cytology.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Our aim was to determine the incidence of cervical and endometrial pathology associated with the diagnosis of histiocytes on cervical cytology.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective review was conducted from 1993 to 1995 of cervical cytology reports in which histiocytes were named in the descriptive diagnosis. Charts were reviewed and follow-up was performed on all patients for an additional 2 years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Histiocytes were diagnosed in 226 of 82,018 (0.27%) cytology reports. Histiocytes alone (110), histiocytes and endometrial cells (40), and histiocytes and inflammation (45) were reported in the patients with complete follow-up. Final pathological findings after 2 years of follow-up were normal in 169 cases; other findings included polyps (6), simple hyperplasia (10), complex hyperplasia (1), previously treated cervical cancer (4), and endometrial cancer (5). All patients with endometrial cancer had clinical signs and symptoms of disease.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The diagnosis of histiocytes on cervical cytology is associated with neoplasia (7.8%) or cancer (2.6%) in some cases. However, significant neoplasia (i.e., carcinoma or atypical hyperplasia) was associated with clinical signs and symptoms. On cytological workup, the finding of histiocytes in the absence of symptoms appears not to be associated with significant pathology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, PA.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hartmann
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Dunton