Introduction:
Cancer of the cervix is the second most common cancer among women worldwide and the frequency of precancerous lesions is increasing among adolescents.
Objective:
To study and compare the frequency of epithelial abnormalities in cervical cytology exams in adolescents and adults.
Materials and methods:
Retrospective study based on analysis of reports of cytology exams performed in the years 2000 and 2010 in adolescents (12-18 years old) and in adult women. The frequency of cytological alterations was explored, stratifying them into high-grade/carcinoma and low-grade lesions.
Results:
In 2000, rates of epithelial abnormalities were 3.08% in adolescents and 1.39% in adult females, and were 4.76% and 1.83% in 2010, respectively. The high-grade lesions/carcinomas were more common among adults in both years.
Discussion:
There was an increase in prevalence of epithelial abnormalities in the last decade, both in adolescents and in adults. Proportionally, the increase was higher among adolescents (6.7%) than in adults (2.2%). However, the rate of high-grade lesions/carcinoma was higher among adult women in the two analyzed years.
Conclusion:
It was observed that the frequency of cervical epithelial abnormalities was higher among adolescents than adults and increased between 2000 and 2010.
Pap test; epithelial abnormalities; adolescents; HPV