The effectiveness of cytological rescreening in the reduction of false negative/positive Pap reports.

Background: Cytological investigation of the cervix has proven to be a valuable tool in the early detection of cervical cancer; however, the high incidence of false negative or false positive smear reports is an important drawback.

Objectives: To investigate retrospectively the value of partial rescreening methods as tools for improving the sensitivity and specificity of Pap test routine screening.

Methods: Out of a total of 4664 cervical samples examined by Pap test, 20% were randomly selected and rescreened with a more detailed examining protocol by the same cytologist; in addition, targeted rescreening of all samples with severe lesions was carried out.