Purpose: to evaluate the efficacy of cytology and colposcopy-directed biopsy to distinguish preclinical invasive cervical carcinoma from intraepithelial lesions. Patients and Methods: 441 patients submitted to conization, hysterectomy and Wertheim-Meigs operation from 1978 to 1995 in the University Hospital "Clementino Fraga Filho", Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Cervical Pathology Outpatient Clinic. We estimated sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, likelihood ratio and confidence intervals of each study, which were divided into four classes: 1) normal and inflammatory; 2) mild and moderate dysplasias; 3) severe dysplasia and carcinoma in situ; 4) microcarcinoma and invasive carcinoma. Biopsies were analyzed as a whole and separated in accordance with the type of the colposcopic result (satisfactory and unsatisfactory). Results: cytology has shown sensitivity of 50%, specificity of 89%, positive predictive value of 63% and negative predictive value of 82%. The likelihood ratios were 4.4 for stromal invasion diagnosis, 0.7 for severe dysplasia and carcinoma in situ, 0.1 for mild and moderate dysplasia, 2.2 for normal and inflammatory report and 0.6 for the negative results for invasion as a whole. Satisfactory colposcopic guided biopsy white a visible lesion showed sensitivity of 59%, specificity of 100% positive predictive value of 100% and negative predictive value of 83%. Likelyohood ratios were: tending to infinity for invasion, 0.5 for severe dysplasia and carcinoma in situ, zero for mild and moderate dysplasia, zero for negative and inflammatory and 0.4 for all negative results for invasion.
Cervix; Uterine cervix; Preneoplastic lesions; Vaginal citology; Colposcopy
