Inter-rater agreement of sputum cytology for lung cancer screening in Japan.

Background: To compare lung cancer detection rate by sputum cytology, we need some assurance that the estimates do not vary widely if different observers evaluate the same specimens. The aim of this study was to determine inter-rater agreement of sputum cytology diagnoses.

Methods: Slides of sputum cytology from 150 subjects were selected from a pool of slides held by six of the laboratories that had participated in a population-based lung cancer screening program over the last ten years in Japan.

A comparison of liquid-based cytology with conventional cytology in cervical cancer screening.

Objective: To clarify the performance of liquid-based cytology (LBC) and conventional methods of preparing cervical specimens for cytological screening.

Study Design: We studied 236,511 patients who participated in a population-based cervical cancer screening program conducted in the Niigata prefecture between 2005 and 2008. The percentage of unsatisfactory specimens and the disease detection rate were compared between specimens prepared by LBC and conventional methods.