Jissa V Thulaseedharan1, Nea Malila2, Pulikottil O Esmy3, Richard Muwonge4, Matti Hakama2, Rengaswamy Sankaranarayanan5. 1. Achutha Menon Centre for Health Science Studies, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Trivandrum, India; School of Health Sciences, University of Tampere, Tampereen Yliopisto, Finland. 2. School of Health Sciences, University of Tampere, Tampereen Yliopisto, Finland; Finnish Cancer Registry, Pieni Roobertinkatu, Helsinki, Finland. 3. Christian Fellowship Community Health Centre, Ambilikkai, Tamil Nadu, India. 4. Screening Group, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France. Electronic address: muwonger@iarc.fr. 5. Screening Group, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To estimate the long-term risk of cervical cancer among women screened by visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) and to evaluate the benefit of additional colposcopy triage in rural south India. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted among 31 343 women who had undergone VIA at Dindigul district, India between January 1, 2000, and August 5, 2003, as part of a randomized screening trial. Women with positive VIA test results were offered colposcopy triage by trained nurses. Cervical cancer incidence data during follow-up (January 1, 2000, to December 31, 2012) were obtained from a regional cancer registry. RESULTS: Among 3021 screen-positive women free of cancer at baseline, 2974 women underwent colposcopy; colposcopic abnormalities suggestive of precancerous lesions were detected among 2792 of these women (93.9%). Compared with the women with negative VIA screening results, the hazard ratio (HR) of cervical cancer during follow-up among the VIA-positive women without colposcopic abnormalities was 6.5 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.6-27.1). The risk was similar among VIA-positive women with colposcopic abnormalities but without histological confirmation (HR5.2; 95% CI, 1.9-14.6). CONCLUSION: The high risk of cancer among women without colposcopic abnormalities who tested positive by VIA suggested that screening without triage is potentially effective.
OBJECTIVE: To estimate the long-term risk of cervical cancer among women screened by visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) and to evaluate the benefit of additional colposcopy triage in rural south India. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted among 31 343 women who had undergone VIA at Dindigul district, India between January 1, 2000, and August 5, 2003, as part of a randomized screening trial. Women with positive VIA test results were offered colposcopy triage by trained nurses. Cervical cancer incidence data during follow-up (January 1, 2000, to December 31, 2012) were obtained from a regional cancer registry. RESULTS: Among 3021 screen-positive women free of cancer at baseline, 2974 women underwent colposcopy; colposcopic abnormalities suggestive of precancerous lesions were detected among 2792 of these women (93.9%). Compared with the women with negative VIA screening results, the hazard ratio (HR) of cervical cancer during follow-up among the VIA-positive women without colposcopic abnormalities was 6.5 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.6-27.1). The risk was similar among VIA-positive women with colposcopic abnormalities but without histological confirmation (HR5.2; 95% CI, 1.9-14.6). CONCLUSION: The high risk of cancer among women without colposcopic abnormalities who tested positive by VIA suggested that screening without triage is potentially effective.