Evaluation and management of the AGUS Papanicolaou smear.

Atypical glandular cells on Papanicolaou smears are an unusual but important cytologic diagnosis. The Bethesda system classifies atypical glandular cells of undetermined significance (AGUS) as glandular cells that demonstrate nuclear atypia appearing to exceed reactive or reparative changes but lacking unequivocal features of adenocarcinoma. AGUS occurs in approximately 0.18 to 0.74 percent of all cervical smears. Because of the high likelihood that AGUS is associated with significant clinical disease, simply repeating the Papanicolaou smear is not sufficient for the management of AGUS. Unlike women with atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance, a significant percentage of women with AGUS will have more serious lesions, such as high-grade preinvasive squamous disease, adenocarcinoma in situ, adenocarcinoma or invasive cancers from sites other than the cervix. Colposcopic examination is recommended for all women with a cytologic diagnosis of AGUS. Those women with AGUS that is suspicious for adenocarcinoma should undergo cervical conization, even in the absence of detectable abnormalities on colposcopic examination.