PAPNET for cervical cytology screening - Experience in Greece

OBJECTIVE: To validate the efficacy of PAPNET for cervical cytology screeni ng. STUDY DESIGN: From a total of 50,000 gynecologic cases we selected 24 prima rily negative smears from patients who, during follow-up, developed a preca ncerous lesion or cancer in a short time, ranging from a fete months to two years. These negative smears were rescreened by the PAPNET automated syste m and reevaluated by two observers. A third observer blindly reevaluated th e same cases manually. RESULTS: Reevaluation after PAPNET screening showed one false negative smea r,for a rate comparable to that of manual reevaluation, which also reclassi fied the same case. The time required to interpret a smear using the PAPNET system was approximately one minute, while the time required for conventio nal manual screening was approximately five. CONCLUSION: PAPNET is an efficient and fast screening for the detection of precancerous cervical lesions and cancer.