Factors associated with loss to follow up after abnormal cervical cancer screening in pregnancy.

OBJECTIVE: To assess risk factors associated with loss to follow up in patients referred for colposcopy after abnormal cervical cytology during pregnancy in a Southern safety net hospital population. METHODS: An urban colposcopy center was queried for patients referred for follow up of abnormal cervical cytology during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Patients were identified through a standardized referral code in the electronic medical record. Multivariable logistic regression was used to compare patient characteristics between those who followed up for colposcopy and those lost to follow up. Independent risk factors assessed included age, parity, race, insurance, HIV status, history of mental illness, BMI, gestational age and trimester at screening, cytology at colposcopy referral, interval days until colposcopy, and biopsy histology. RESULTS: 1063 patients were identified, with 40.8% of patients who completed referred colposcopy. Patient characteristics predictive for colposcopy follow up included: maternal age at referral cervical cytology >30 years (1.67; 1.27-2.20; < 0.003), gestational age < 18 weeks at abnormal cervical cytology (1.57; 1.23-2.01; <0.0002), maternal race non-African American (2.20; 1.32-3.65; <0.0024) and with high grade cervical cytology (2.42; 1.81-3.24; <0.0001). CONCLUSION: In this population, inadequate follow up for abnormal cervical cytology during pregnancy is prominent, especially among those with younger maternal age, African American (AA) race, cervical cytology completed at later gestational ages of pregnancy, and low-grade initial cytology. Higher no-show rate among AA patients supports well-documented health disparities and need for further investigation and protocols to identify those at risk for loss to follow up.

Human papillomavirus 16/18/45 are not the most frequent genotypes in African American women: analysis in cervical Papanicolaou smears of women in an inner-city hospital.

INTRODUCTION: Cervical cancer is considered the most common human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated disease in women. Primary and secondary prevention methods have been established through Pap tests, HPV molecular testing, and vaccines. Although the most common high-risk HPV (HR-HPV) genotypes in the United States are 16, 18, and 45, there is reported ethnic disparity in the distribution of these genotypes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data analysis of HPV genotype results on cervical pap tests in our institution between late 2018 and early 2020 was performed. The distribution of HPV genotypes in each Bethesda category was evaluated. RESULTS: A total of 13,160 smears were evaluated; 75.5% were from African American women. Of those tested for HR-HPV (10,060), 1412 (14%) were HR-HPV positive. In all diagnostic categories of the Bethesda classification system, non-16/18/45 HR-HPV genotypes were more prevalent, ranging from 60.8% even in high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion to 90.4% in negative for intraepithelial lesion or malignancy. CONCLUSIONS: In this study with a predominantly African American population, non-16/18/45 HR-HPV genotypes were prevalent in the majority (60.8%) of high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion cases. Ethnic variability should be considered when deciding which HPV genotypes to integrate into the HPV vaccine.

Advancing Research on Medical Image Perception by Strengthening Multidisciplinary Collaboration.

Medical image interpretation is central to detecting, diagnosing, and staging cancer and many other disorders. At a time when medical imaging is being transformed by digital technologies and artificial intelligence, understanding the basic perceptual and cognitive processes underlying medical image interpretation is vital for increasing diagnosticians' accuracy and performance, improving patient outcomes, and reducing diagnostician burnout. Medical image perception remains substantially understudied. In September 2019, the National Cancer Institute convened a multidisciplinary panel of radiologists and pathologists together with researchers working in medical image perception and adjacent fields of cognition and perception for the "Cognition and Medical Image Perception Think Tank." The Think Tank's key objectives were to identify critical unsolved problems related to visual perception in pathology and radiology from the perspective of diagnosticians, discuss how these clinically relevant questions could be addressed through cognitive and perception research, identify barriers and solutions for transdisciplinary collaborations, define ways to elevate the profile of cognition and perception research within the medical image community, determine the greatest needs to advance medical image perception, and outline future goals and strategies to evaluate progress. The Think Tank emphasized diagnosticians' perspectives as the crucial starting point for medical image perception research, with diagnosticians describing their interpretation process and identifying perceptual and cognitive problems that arise. This article reports the deliberations of the Think Tank participants to address these objectives and highlight opportunities to expand research on medical image perception.

Criminal Justice Involvement and Abnormal Cervical Cancer Screening Results Among Women in an Urban Safety Net Hospital.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to elucidate the risk factors underlying abnormal cytology-based cervical cancer screening (Pap testing) in justice-involved women (JIW) compared with non-JIW in an urban safety net hospital. METHODS: Retrospective chart review of women with a history of correctional involvement who received care at Grady Health System between 2010 and 2018 and had a Pap test was performed (n = 191). An age-matched cohort of women with no correctional involvement and had a Pap test at Grady served as the control (n = 394). Variables of interest were age, HIV, smoking, race, mental health history, and history of incarceration. Outcomes of interests were rate of abnormal Pap tests and follow-up. χ2 and logistic regression models evaluated associations between the variables of interest and outcomes. RESULTS: Rates of abnormal Pap tests were significantly higher in JIW (35.6%) than controls (18.5%, p < .0001). Compared with controls, JIW were significantly more likely to have high-grade cervical cytology (odds ratio [OR] = 3.89, p < .0005) and be lost to gynecologic follow-up (OR = 8.75, p < .0001) and a history of severe mental illness (29.5% vs 4.3%, p < .0001). Those with abnormal Pap tests were likely to be HIV-positive (OR = 20.7, p < .001) and have a history of incarceration (OR = 2.33, p < .001). Predictors of high-grade Pap test were smoking history (OR = 0.16, p = .014), HIV-positive (OR = 3.66, p = .025), and history of incarceration (OR = 3.96, p < .0005). CONCLUSIONS: Justice-involved women represent a high-risk subpopulation with significantly increased rates of high-grade cytology and lost to follow-up. This underscores the need for attention to screening programs and follow-up interventions for JIW.

College of American Pathologists Cancer Protocols: From Optimizing Cancer Patient Care to Facilitating Interoperable Reporting and Downstream Data Use.

The College of American Pathologists Cancer Protocols have offered guidance to pathologists for standard cancer pathology reporting for more than 35 years. The adoption of computer readable versions of these protocols by electronic health record and laboratory information system (LIS) vendors has provided a mechanism for pathologists to report within their LIS workflow, in addition to enabling standardized structured data capture and reporting to downstream consumers of these data such as the cancer surveillance community. This paper reviews the history of the Cancer Protocols and electronic Cancer Checklists, outlines the current use of these critically important cancer case reporting tools, and examines future directions, including plans to help improve the integration of the Cancer Protocols into clinical, public health, research, and other workflows.

Do High Rates of Atypical Glandular Cells Correlate With Higher Incidence of Disease in a Large Safety Net Hospital.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to describe the incidence and correlates of atypical glandular cell (AGC) Pap tests in a low socioeconomic status, underserved population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Medical records of patients with AGC Pap tests at a single institution were reviewed from January 2013 to August 2019. Baseline characteristics were extracted including age, body mass index, birth control, abnormal uterine bleeding, and human papillomavirus (HPV). All colposcopy and endometrial biopsies were classified into negative/low-risk (polyps, tubular metaplasia, microglandular hyperplasia, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 1) and high-risk (HR) lesions (cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 2/3, adenocarcinoma in situ, endometrial hyperplasia, cervical cancer, endometrial cancer). Logistic regression identified significant associations. Sixty-eight randomly selected AGC cytology slides from the cohort and 32 non-AGC slides outside the cohort were blindly reviewed by 6 pathologists. Fleiss κ interrater agreement was assessed. RESULTS: Seven hundred forty patients with AGC Pap tests were identified (0.8% of all Pap tests performed during this time). After excluding for incomplete data, 478 patients were included. Sixty-three patients had HR lesions (13.3%). Patients with HR lesions had increased odds of abnormal uterine bleeding (odds ratio = 4.32, p < .001) and HPV positivity (odds ratio = 10.89, p < .001) when compared with patients with low-risk lesions. The κ agreement was 0.21 for all cases and 0.18 for AGC alone. CONCLUSIONS: This population falls within the national averages for AGC Pap tests. There was an increased risk of HR lesions in patients with abnormal uterine bleeding and HPV positivity. The rate of HR lesions among AGC Pap tests was at the lower end of values in the literature. After blinded pathologist review, interobserver κ agreement was low for AGC Pap tests.

Preanalytics and Precision Pathology: Pathology Practices to Ensure Molecular Integrity of Cancer Patient Biospecimens for Precision Medicine.

Biospecimens acquired during routine medical practice are the primary sources of molecular information about patients and their diseases that underlies precision medicine and translational research. In cancer care, molecular analysis of biospecimens is especially common because it often determines treatment choices and may be used to monitor therapy in real time. However, patient specimens are collected, handled, and processed according to routine clinical procedures during which they are subjected to factors that may alter their molecular quality and composition. Such artefactual alteration may skew data from molecular analyses, render analysis data uninterpretable, or even preclude analysis altogether if the integrity of a specimen is severely compromised. As a result, patient care and safety may be affected, and medical research dependent on patient samples may be compromised. Despite these issues, there is currently no requirement to control or record preanalytical variables in clinical practice with the single exception of breast cancer tissue handled according to the guideline jointly developed by the American Society of Clinical Oncology and College of American Pathologists (CAP) and enforced through the CAP Laboratory Accreditation Program. Recognizing the importance of molecular data derived from patient specimens, the CAP Personalized Healthcare Committee established the Preanalytics for Precision Medicine Project Team to develop a basic set of evidence-based recommendations for key preanalytics for tissue and blood specimens. If used for biospecimens from patients, these preanalytical recommendations would ensure the fitness of those specimens for molecular analysis and help to assure the quality and reliability of the analysis data.

Freeing the data from cytology databases in order to improve the quality of cytology.

INTRODUCTION: To review how changes in data storage and analysis can impact quality and quality assessment in cytology. METHODS: Review of the literature. RESULTS: All quality assessment is dependent on the data available for review and the methods available for evaluation. Current laboratory information systems (LISs) incorporate both a relational or hierarchical database and built in methods to analyze current quality assessment standards. In contrast, most information systems outside of medicine are separating data storage from analysis, allowing increasingly more sophisticated forms of evaluation. CONCLUSION: There is an opportunity for improvement in cytology by improving the way data can be extracted and analyzed from the cytology LIS.

The Clinical Course of Patients With Prostate-Specific Antigen ≥100 ng/ml: Insight Into a Potential Population for Targeted Prostate-Specific Antigen Screening.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize men presenting to a tertiary care safety-net hospital with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) values ≥100 ng/mL and to identify a potential population for targeted PSA screening. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospective review of 100 randomly selected patients of a total of 204 who presented to Grady Memorial Hospital from 2004 to 2011 with initial PSA ≥100 ng/mL was performed. Demographics, disease characteristics, and survival status were obtained via the Tumor Registry and a combination of electronic medical records and older paper charts, with missing data from paper charts excluded on analyses. RESULTS: Sixty-five patients were newly diagnosed with prostate cancer on presentation and 35 were previously diagnosed. Median PSA at presentation was 405.5 ng/mL (minimum, 100 and maximum, 7805), 81% had metastatic disease, and 94% had Gleason ≥7. Median Cancer of the Prostate Risk Assessment score was 8. Median age at presentation was 67.4 years (minimum, 40.8 and maximum, 90.6). Eighty-nine percent of patients were African American, 24% lived alone, 12% were homeless or incarcerated, 51% were insured by Medicare or Medicaid, and 47% were uninsured. Only 1% had human immunodeficiency virus, 19% had diabetes, and 13% had chronic kidney disease. Of the 65 newly diagnosed patients, only 23% had ever been screened and 9% were previously biopsied. Median time from presentation to death was 17.8 months (minimum, 0.16 and maximum, 107.1). CONCLUSION: Among men presenting with PSA ≥100 ng/ml at a safety-net hospital, the majority were African American, of lower socioeconomic status, and had metastatic disease. Uniform absence of prostate cancer screening may expose greater numbers of at-risk men to similar outcomes. Discussion is needed regarding targeted PSA screening in higher risk, vulnerable patients.

Preoperative cytologic interpretation of noninvasive follicular thyroid neoplasm with papillary-like nuclear features: a 1-year multi-institutional experience.

INTRODUCTION: Encapsulated follicular variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) has an indolent behavior; hence, a change in terminology to "noninvasive follicular thyroid neoplasm with papillary-like nuclear features (NIFTP)" has been proposed. Data are scant on the fine-needle aspiration (FNA) diagnosis of nodules proven to be NIFTP upon resection. The aim was to evaluate the FNA diagnosis of nodules diagnosed as NIFTP upon resection. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The archives of 8 participating institutions were searched for thyroid resection specimens obtained in a 1-year period, and pertinent demographic and pathology data were recorded. RESULTS: 2226 thyroid surgeries were performed over the indicated time period. NIFTP was diagnosed in 6.3% of cases; 118 patients (119 nodules) with NIFTP and available preoperative thyroid FNA were included. Preoperative cytologic diagnosis were: non-diagnostic: 0.8%; benign: 5.9%; atypia of undetermined significance/follicular lesion of undetermined significance: 42.9%; follicular neoplasm/suspicious for a follicular neoplasm: 31.0%; suspicious for malignancy: 15.9%; malignant: 3.4%. Molecular data was available for 49 cases, either by Afirma or ThyGenX/ThyroSeq. Of the Afirma cases, 11% were classified as "benign", 2% as "indeterminate", and 87% as "suspicious"; of the ThyGenX/ThyroSeq cases, 50% had NRAS mutations, 20% demonstrated KRAS mutations, 20% showed HRAS mutations, and 10% showed a BRAF mutation (K601E). CONCLUSIONS: NIFTP are tumors demonstrating nuclear features similar to those seen in PTC. Our series shows that a preoperative diagnosis of "suspicious for malignancy" or "malignant" is uncommon in NIFTP, suggesting that there are sufficient cytomorphologic differences between PTC and NIFTP to allow for the suspicion of NIFTP on FNA specimens.

Recent Developments in Surgical Pathology of the Uterine Corpus.

There have been several updates recently on the classification of uterine tumors. Endometrial carcinomas have traditionally been divided into 2 types, but some are difficult to classify and do not fit readily into either of the currently recognized categories. The Cancer Genome Atlas Research Network has recently defined 4 new categories of endometrial cancer on the basis of mutational spectra, copy number alteration, and microsatellite instability, which might provide independent prognostic information beyond established risk factors. The Society of Gynecologic Oncology, moreover, now recommends systematic screening of every patient with endometrial cancer for Lynch syndrome. The new definition of high-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma disregards the number of mitotic figures as a primary diagnostic criterion and instead specifies moderate atypia still resembling stromal origin but lacking the pleomorphism of undifferentiated uterine sarcoma; these tumors also harbor a JAZF1-SUZ12 gene rearrangement. Mitotic count, atypia, and coagulative necrosis are the main histologic criteria that define leiomyosarcoma. Determining the type of necrosis can be very challenging in patients receiving various treatment modalities for symptomatic fibroids before myomectomy, since key histologic features of ischemic-type necrosis are often absent. Ancillary stains including p16, p53, MIB-1, trichrome, and reticulin may be helpful in tumors harboring necrosis that is difficult to classify. Minimally invasive gynecologic surgeries have introduced histologic artifacts that complicate the diagnosis. It is essential to recognize these as procedure-related artifacts to avoid upstaging tumors and triggering unnecessary adjuvant treatment.

Screening Mammography in a Public Hospital Serving Predominantly African-American Women: A Stage-Survival-Cost Model.

BACKGROUND: Ethnic and socioeconomic disparities pervade breast cancer patterns and outcomes. Mammography guidelines reflect the difficulty in optimizing mortality reduction and cost-effectiveness, with controversy still surrounding the 2009 U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendations. This study simulates USPSTF and American Cancer Society (ACS) guidelines' effects on stage, survival, and cost of treatment in an urban public hospital. METHODS: Charts of 274 women diagnosed with stage I, II, or III breast cancer (2008-2010) were reviewed. Published tumor doubling times were used to predict size at diagnosis under simulated screening guidelines. Stage distributions under ACS and USPSTF guidelines were compared with those observed. Cohort survival for observed and hypothetical scenarios was estimated using national statistics. Treatment costs by stage, calculated from Georgia Medicaid claims data, were similarly applied. RESULTS: Mean age at diagnosis was 56 years. African Americans predominated (82.5%), with 96% publically insured or uninsured. Simulated stages at diagnosis significantly favored ACS guidelines (43.1% stage 1/38.3% stage 2/9.9% stage 3 vs. USPSTF 23.0%/53.3 %/15.0%), as did 5-year survival and cost of treatment relative to both observed and USPSTF-predicted schema (p<.0001). Following USPSTF guidelines predicted lower survival and additional costs. CONCLUSIONS: Following ACS guidelines seems to lead to earlier diagnosis for low-income African-American women and increase 5-year survival with lower overall and breast-specific costs. The data suggest that adjusting screening practices for lower socioeconomic status, ethnic minority women may prove essential in addressing cancer disparities.

Progression and regression of cervical pap test lesions in an urban AIDS clinic in the combined antiretroviral therapy era: a longitudinal, retrospective study.

Our objective was to evaluate the progression and regression of cervical dysplasia in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive women during the late antiretroviral era. Risk factors as well as outcomes after treatment of cancerous or precancerous lesions were examined. This is a longitudinal retrospective review of cervical Pap tests performed on HIV-infected women with an intact cervix between 2004 and 2011. Subjects needed over two Pap tests for at least 2 years of follow-up. Progression was defined as those who developed a squamous intraepithelial lesion (SIL), atypical glandular cells (AGC), had low-grade SIL (LSIL) followed by atypical squamous cells-cannot exclude high-grade SIL (ASC-H) or high-grade SIL (HSIL), or cancer. Regression was defined as an initial SIL with two or more subsequent normal Pap tests. Persistence was defined as having an SIL without progression or regression. High-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) testing started in 2006 on atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS) Pap tests. AGC at enrollment were excluded from progression analysis. Of 1,445 screened, 383 patients had over two Pap tests for a 2-year period. Of those, 309 had an intact cervix. The median age was 40 years and CD4+ cell count was 277 cells/mL. Four had AGC at enrollment. A quarter had persistently normal Pap tests, 64 (31%) regressed, and 50 (24%) progressed. Four developed cancer. The only risk factor associated with progression was CD4 count. In those with treated lesions, 24 (59%) had negative Pap tests at the end of follow-up. More studies are needed to evaluate follow-up strategies of LSIL patients, potentially combined with HPV testing. Guidelines for HIV-seropositive women who are in care, have improved CD4, and have persistently negative Pap tests could likely lengthen the follow-up interval.