Screening for cervical cancer and precancerous lesions in Tabriz

Background: Cervical cancer is the most common female genital tract malignancy and is the major cause of death from gynecologic cancer worldwide. The majority of cervical cancers develop through a series of gradual, precancerous lesions. Screening asymptomatic women with regular Pap smears allows diagnosis of the readily treatable preinvasive phase. We performed this study to determine the prevalence of precancerous lesions and assess the effect of demographic, pathologic and family economic factors on developing lesions. Methods: This cross-sectional, descriptive, analytic study was carried out on 6024 women under coverage of Tabriz health care centers. Pap smear was done in all subjects and questionnaires were filled by health providers. The data were analyzed with SPSS statistical software (version 12) and statistical methods such as chi-square and t-test. Results: Of 6024 Pap smears, 62 (1.02%) demonstrated precancerous lesions of which 41(0.68%) were atypical squamous cell of undetermined significance (ASC-US), 11 (0.18%) were low grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL) and 10 (0.16%) were high grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL). No invasive cancer case was observed in this study. According to our observation, the following factors increased the risk of precancerous lesions: multiparity > 3, abortion > 1, gravida >3, husband marriage >1. The protective effect of condom as a barrier contraceptive was observed. Conclusion: According to this study it is imperative to make readily available facilities for screening asymptomatic women all over Iran.