UICC World Cancer Congress 2006

Objective:In the absence of organized cervical screening programs for the prevention and control of cervical cancer, the accurate and early detection of cervical cancer is a boon for cure the disease.To analyze the challenges encountered in the early detection of cervical cancer in a hospital based cervical screening setting.

Methods:500 women attending the early cancer screening OPD were analyzed for various challenges encountered in early detection. A detailed sociodemographic history, clinical examination, cytology, Colposcopy with guided biopsies and endocervical curettage biopsies were done for all women. Final diagnostic correlation with histopathological examination of surgical specimen in a few women was done.

Results: The challenges were analyzed under broad categories like –1) Reasons for undergoing screening, 2)anatomical difficulties in establishing accurate diagnosis, 3) symtoms with similarities in other nonneoplastic conditions,4)inevitable discrepancies between clinical staging and pathological findings, 5) advising over or undertreatment .