The abnormal cervical smear ALBERT

Squamous cervical cancer (which comprises 95% of all cervical cancers) is completely preventable if its precancerous stages of dysplasia, carcinoma in situ (now called cervical intraepithelial neoplasia), or microinvasive cancer are detected and treated. Detection is relatively simple and entails analysis of a sample of cells exfoliated within the ectocervix and endocervix. Exfoliative cytology, which is performed on nearly three million women in the United Kingdom each year, has unfortunately not reduced the number of deaths from cervical cancer as it has in other countries. ' The relative ineffectiveness of the screening programme in the United Kingdom seems to be related to two factors: the lack of an initial call system coupled with inadequacy of record and recall systems for women with abnormal findings and the fact that most