A comparative study of cervical cytology findings among women with end-stage renal disease and matched controls in women undergoing routine cytological screening

Abstract

Background: Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer amongst women in Nigeria and one of the top 2 causes of cancer related deaths. There is growing evidence about the relationship between renal disease and cervical cancer. This study aimed to compare the cervical cytology findings in women with CKD being prepared for transplants and matched control group.

Methods: The study was a retrospective cross-sectional analytical study conducted at the Zenith Medical and Kidney Centre. A total of 70 women were included with retrospective sampling from the hospital medical records. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 25, statistical significance was set p<0.05.

Results: There were 33 with normal renal function for routine screening and 37 women who had End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). The Normal renal function group had 78.79% of cytological smears normal while 67.57% were normal in the ESRD group. The rate of premalignant lesions of the cervix was 3.03% in the normal renal function group and 10.81% in the ESRD group, though, not statistically significant (p-value - 0.259). There was no association between the cervical cytological findings and the duration of ESRD.

Conclusion: The findings from this reaffirms that ESRD patients appear more likely to have abnormal cervical cytology, though ASCUS alone does not indicate high risk of progression to cancer, it indicates a need for further investigation to ascertain the risk levels of people with ESRD. Cervical cytology screening prior to transplantation and treatment of premalignant lesion of the cervix in women with ESRD could improve outcomes.