Cytocheck Laboratory LLC

Cytocheck Laboratory, LLC has been offering the ThinPrep® Pap Test since February 1997. We are now proud to announce that our clients have access to a new test available through Cytocheck Laboratory, the Hybrid Capture® 2 HPV DNA Test. As an adjunct to the Pap Smear, this test aids in earlier detection of more disease and reduces additional follow-up procedures and colposcopies. This technology identifies several viral types of HPV that are implicated in the pathogenesis of high grade dysplasia and invasive cancer. The test can be performed on the residual ThinPrep fluid preservative after the pap smear is made, or separately as a single test using a cytobrush and transport medium. Why is this an important new test? Because we know that HPV causes progressive disease and women are at risk of progression only as long as infection with high risk HPV persists. In addition, persistent HPV infection increases by over 250 times the relative risk of cervical cancer. There are several clinical benefits to performing HPV testing:1. Provides a high level of diagnostic confidence and minimizes the risk of missed disease. 2. Helps determine the need for colposcopy. Patients with ASC or AGC pap results and positive HPV should be triaged to colposcopy. Studies have shown that HPV testing has a higher sensitivity than repeat pap testing in detecting underlying HSIL in patients with an ASC pap result. 3. HPV negative women can be returned to routine screening with a high degree of confidence. 4. Reduces the anxiety in HPV negative women with ASC or AGC results. In our laboratory, we have chosen to offer HPV testing only for the viral types associated with HSIL and invasive cancer (16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 56, 58, 59, 68). The HPV test can be performed a reflex test with the ThinPrep Pap Test or as an individual test. Knowing the HPV status of a patient with an ASC pap smear result may indicate she is at increased risk for disease and could benefit from an immediate colposcopy.