How Are Pap Smear Results Classified?
Laboratories use one of two systems to classify Pap smear results.
Traditional Reporting System
The older system classifies each cell sample as
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Class I
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Normal
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Class II
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Atypical
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Class III
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Mild, moderate, or severe abnormality
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Class IV
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Carcinoma in situ, that is, a growth that has the characteristics of cancer cells but has not yet reached the deepest layers of the tissue
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Class V
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Suspicious for an invasive cancer, that is, cancer that is likely to infiltrate and destroy surrounding tissue
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The Bethesda System
Developed during a conference of cancer specialists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), this newer system is replacing the older classification method.
The Bethesda System classifies the adequacy of cell samples as
- satisfactory
- limited
- unsatisfactory
It describes epithelial cells as
- normal
- benign or noncancerous
- abnormal
The Bethesda System further classifies abnormal epithelial cells - the cells that make up the mucous membrane that lines the cervix - as
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atypical squamous cells of unknown significance (ASCUS)
- low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL)
- high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL)
Abnormalities in cells that line the glands of the cervix may be
- atypical glandular cells of undetermined significance (AGUS)
- adenocarcinoma, that is, cancer of the glandular cells of the cervix
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Pap Smear
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