Randomised trial of immediate versus deferred treatment strategies for the management of minor cervical cytological abnormalities.

OBJECTIVE: To compare immediate and deferred treatment in women with cervical smears showing borderline nuclear abnormalities or mild dyskaryosis.

DESIGN: Prospective randomised trial.

SETTING: Colposcopy clinics at Birmingham and Midland Hospital for Women and the City Hospital NHS Trust, Dudley Road, Birmingham.

PARTICIPANTS: Four hundred and thirty-five women with minor cytological abnormality younger than 35 years of age, of whom 353 were randomised to immediate treatment or deferred treatment.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Comparison of histologies in the subsequent two years in the immediate and deferred treatment groups.

RESULTS: Thirty-six women (21%) defaulted from follow up. The percentage of high grade abnormalities (CIN II and III) in the deferred treatment arm at two years is similar to that in the immediate treated arm at first colposcopy (25% vs 24%). Cytology failed to pick up two cases of CIN III and there was one case of early invasive carcinoma at the six month follow up. If treatment is deferred, the proportion with CIN I is almost halved (25% vs 13%); the proportion with koilocytic atypia is slightly reduced (51% vs 42%) and the proportion with no abnormality is substantially increased (0.6% vs 20%).

CONCLUSION: Immediate referral and a select-and-treat management strategy of all women with any degree of dyskaryosis is recommended based on the case of invasive cervical cancer, high default rate and the failure of cytology to pick up two cases of CIN III.