FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 15, 2002
AutoCyte Prep Thin-Layer Pap Test Provides Clear Results
More comfortable for patients and easier for clinicians
OLYMPIA—Cervical cancer is nearly 100 percent preventable and curable if detected early. Having a Pap test every year is one of the most important things a woman can do to prevent this disease.
Since the advent of the Pap smear in 1943 – a microscopic exam of cervical cells to detect changes in the cervix before they become cancerous – the number of deaths related to cervical cancer has decreased 74 percent. Despite this overwhelming success, precancerous or malignant cells are not always correctly detected. These false negative results have been the focus of intense study over the past decade.
Locally, a new, more definitive FDA-approved test is available called the AutoCyte Prep thin-layer Pap test. Using a special brush, clinicians collect a sample of cells and send the entire brush in a preservative solution to Black Hills Pathology, which operates a laboratory at Providence St. Peter Hospital. Last year, the lab screened more than 35,000 pap smears, serving a five-county area in Southwest Washington, including Thurston, Lewis, Mason, Grays Harbor and Pacific counties.
With the conventional Pap smear, a clinician collects a sample of cells, prepares a slide and sends the slide to a laboratory for processing. Conventional Pap smear collection methods may leave up to 80 percent of cells on the sampling device, which is discarded. The slide may not contain any abnormal cells, or they may not be visible due to technical difficulty in preparing slides in the doctor’s office. This may result in a false negative reading.
With AutoCyte, 100 percent of the sample reaches the lab. The liquid-based sample produces a representative slide that contains a homogenous, thin layer of cervical cells. The samples are clearer and easier to screen. The process also is more comfortable for patients.
Studies have shown that AutoCyte thin layer preparations are more sensitive in detecting pre-malignant and malignant lesions of the cervix. A positive test can lead to more precise diagnosis and treatment to remove lesions before they become fully malignant.
The AutoCyte Prep test costs about 65 percent more than conventional Pap tests, but most insurance companies, Medicare and Medicaid cover at least part of the cost. Patients can request AutoCyte processing from their physician. Clinicians who are interested in AutoCyte testing should contact Black Hills Pathology at (360) 491-8420.
Providence St. Peter Hospital, founded by the Sisters of Providence in 1887, is a not-for-profit, 390-bed hospital serving the five-county South Sound region with comprehensive medical, surgical and mental health services.
# # #
|
