Material and Method: All women with ASC-H, who underwent colposcopy and had histolopathologic diagnosis between January 2004 and December 2011, were recruited. Clinical and cytomorphologic features were correlated with final histological diagnosis. Univariate and multivariate analysis were used to determine predicting factors for high-grade CIN/invasive cancer.

Results: Among 136,638 smears performed, 193 (0.14%) smears were reported as ASC-H and 121 smears were available for review. The underlying pathology were negative/reactive (N/R) 57 (47.1%), CIN 1 23 (19.0%), CIN 2-3 39 (32.0%), and invasive cancer 2 (1.6%). On univariate analysis, predicting factors of having high-grade CIN included a high N/C ratio, greater nuclear hyperchromasia, nuclear membrane irregularities, and the coarse chromatin. The multivariate analysis showed that a high nuclear-to-cytoplasmic (N/C) ratio (OR = 8.6, 95% CI = 1.1-70.1) and greater nuclear hyperchromasia (OR = 5.8, 95% CI = 1.6-20.8) were the independent predictors for high-grade CIN or invasive carcinoma.

Conclusion: The presence of a high N/C ratio and greater nuclear hyperchromasia could be used to predict high-grade CIN or invasive carcinoma in ASC-H smears.

Keywords: Atypical squamous cells, High-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion, Cervical smears, Cervical cancer