Publication:

Comparative evaluation of human papillomavirus DNA and liquid-based cytology in screening of cervical cancer

Background Cervical cancer ranks as the fourth most prevalent cancer among women worldwide with approximately 604,127 new cases and 341,831 deaths reported in 2020. It takes around 10-20 years for progression from mild dysplasia to invasive cancer, allowing early detection through screening .

Methods This was a cross-sectional study conducted at the department of obstetrics and gynaecology at GSVM medical college Kanpur between december 2022 to december 2023 involving 241 women aged 30-65 years attending the gynecology OPD. Liquid-based cytology (LBC) and human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA testing was conducted on each woman irrespective of complain of presentation.

Results The mean age of patients in this study was 39.65 years. HPV DNA had a higher sensitivity (95.24%) than LBC (89.68%). Specificity of HPV DNA (72.16%) was slightly lesser than LBC (79.92%). Positive and negative predictive value for HPV DNA and LBC are (46.1%, 96.22%) and (49.68%, 94.68%) respectively. Area under curve for HPV DNA (0.79) was higher than LBC (0.74) proving its higher diagnosing accuracy. The cluster analysis showed HPV+ clusters covered more area and distribution than LBC proving its better performance.

Conclusions HPV DNA testing showed superior sensitivity  compared to LBC. HPV DNA's higher diagnostic accuracy and broader coverage make it a more reliable screening tool.