MICRONUCLEUS COUNT AND ITS PREDICTIVE VALUE IN CERVICAL PAP SMEARS AT A TERTIARY CARE CENTRE, TRICHY DISTRICT, TAMIL NADU

Objectives: Fragmented micronucleus is a good prognostic indicator for monitoring and detecting chromosomal / genetic damage in human population. The objective of this study was to count the cells with presence of micronucleus in cervical pap smears in women with reproductive age group and to detect its predictive value. To substantiate the importance of Micronucleus evaluation in routine Pap smears evaluation for cervical cancer screening. Material and Method: In this study 750 cases, consisting of 200 smears of normal study, 200 smears of infective pathology with trichomonas, bacterial vaginosis and candida infection, 100 smears of ASCUS & ASC-H, 200 smears of squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL-100 & HSIL-100 ) and 50 smears of invasive carcinoma of  women in reproductive women of age group were studied. The cervical smears of women with 20-45 years of age were included in the study. The study was conducted from Jan 2022 – Dec 2022 at Srinivasan Medical College and Hospital, Samayapuram, Trichy.  Only routine papanicolaou-stained cervical smears were used. In each smear, the number of micronucleated cells were counted under high power and expressed as a count per 1,000 cells. Observation & Results: The micronucleus count in Invasive carcinoma > squamous intraepithelial lesion > ASC-US & ASC-H > infective inflammatory > normal cases. The p value is <0.01, that is significant. Conclusions: With significant p-value, the micronucleus test proved as a powerful biomarker and can be used as a screening procedure in predicting cervical cancer.