You’ve had your Pap smear, and now you see the results. What do they mean? Nowadays with electronic health records, patients often see the results of tests before their doctors have a chance to review the results and contact them. Or you may get a call asking you to come back to see your doctor to discuss the results. A little information can help you avoid stress over those results.
Specimen adequacy
The first thing you might see in your Pap test results is a report of specimen adequacy. This tells you whether the test was successful. To get reliable results, your test must include two clusters of cells with at least five cells in each cluster. If there was difficulty in getting a specimen during your exam, you might see that the specimen was inadequate. In that case, your test will be inconclusive and you will need to have the Pap smear done again.
This is not something to worry about. It’s inconvenient but not a sign that anything is wrong. “Satisfactory for evaluation” means that the specimen was fine and the test was completed.
Negative for intraepithelial lesion or malignancy
“Negative for intraepithelial lesion or malignancy” may be a confusing phrase, but it’s just the medical term for a negative or normal Pap smear.
“Intraepithelial” describes the location within the layer of cells that make up the surface or lining of an organ, in this case, your cervix. A lesion is damaged tissue, and malignancy is a disease like cancer that can spread in the body. The phrase means that there is no sign of cancer in the cervix. That’s good news.
You might not hear from your doctor if this is the result of your Pap smear. Plan to return the following year or on the schedule your doctor advises.
ASC-US
If the test suggests that there might be cancer or a pre-cancerous condition but more study is needed, you might see “Unclear” or ASC-US on your Pap smear results. You should visit with your doctor to find out your next steps.
Abnormal
An abnormal result means that the test revealed cell changes. This could mean that you have cervical cancer or pre-cancerous changes, but there may be other explanations, too. Human papillomavirus (HPV) and infections can also cause abnormal results.
This can be a stressful result, but it’s good to know that cervical cancer can be treated when it’s caught early. An abnormal result in a routine annual Pap smear can, therefore, be good news — it means that you have caught pre-cancerous or cancerous changes in time for treatment.
However, it’s also important to know that 3 million women have abnormal Pap test results every year, and fewer than 1% of these women are diagnosed with cervical cancer.
You will probably need to follow up with a colposcopy, which is a closer examination of your cervix. You may also need a biopsy.
A gynecologist, such as the doctors at Renaissance Women’s Healthcare, can answer any additional questions about Pap smear results.