Significance of micronucleus in the whole spectrum of uterine cervical lesions

Introduction: Cervical cancer is the third most common type of cancer among women worldwide, following breast cancer and colon cancer. The micronucleus test is a simple and widely used technique to evaluate genetic damage due to exposure to carcinogenic or mutagenic agents. We undertook this study to compare the MN (micronucleus) score in the whole spectrum of cervical lesions. Materials and methods: In this retrospective study, we had compared the MN score in the whole spectrum of cervical lesions which comprised of seven different groups like normal (20), inflammatory (30), ASC-US (20), ASC-H (13), LSIL (20), HSIL (10) and IC (19) over a period of 1 year (January 2014 to December 2014) which included a total of 132 cases. Results: In the present study, there was a stepwise gradual increase in MN count from inflammatory to ASC-US to LSIL to HSIL group, followed by a slight increase in IC. The mean MN count was most significant in the LSIL and HSIL group. Thus micronucleated cells as well as the total number of micronuclei show increasing trend towards malignization. Conclusion: Our study showed that MN counting can be a helpful screening tool in conjunction with conventional Pap test for screening of cervical cancer.