[Cytological history of 101 patients with invasive cancer of the uterine cervix]. / Storia citologica di 101 pazienti affette da cancro invasivo della cervice uterina.

The cytological history of 101 patients affected by cervical cancer was examined. Three different groups of patients were identified: Group I included 73 women (72.3%) who had never submitted to a cytological cervical sampling, Group II included 17 (16.9%) with an unsatisfactory cytological history and Group III included 11 (10.8%) with a satisfactory cytological history. The disease stage at the time of hospitalization was evaluated in all three groups. In group I, the diagnosis of Stage I was made in 43% of the cases while in the second and third groups, this same stage was diagnosed in 75% and 80% of the cases respectively. Three of the patients from group III presented a normal cytological history, while the other 8 had an abnormal cytological response. Sixty five percent of these 8 had not been submitted to further cytological testing briefly thereafter. From an analysis of these data, the authors attempted to identify the reasons for unsuccess which are still today related to a screening program such at that for cervical cancer. Various international proposals on the organization of a screening program are considered with particular attention given to the minimum and maximum age limits of the women selected for the screening with reference to the authors' personal experience.