Objective  This study investigates the clinical applications of DNA ploidy analysis in the early screening of cervical carcinoma and compares it with traditional cytological diagnosis.

  Methods  A total of 4109 patients who were admitted to the Department of Gynecology of the Tianjin Union Hospital between April 2010 and May 2011 participated in this study.A combined application of liquid-based ultra-thin cell smearing technology and DNA ploidy analysis technique were administered to 2189 patients(Group A), whereas conventional cervical cytological diagnosis was administered to 1920 patients(Group B).The patients with positive results underwent cervical biopsies and histological examinations.Statistical analysis was conducted for the results of the two groups.

  Results  The conventional detection of cervical cytology obtained a positive rate of 2.61%(50/1920).All 50 cases underwent colposcopic biopsy, and positive results were determined in six cases(12%).Following DNA ploidy analysis combined with liquid-based cytology, 201 of the 2 189 cases(9.18%)tested positive, of which 183 underwent colposcopic biopsy, a positive rate of 68.3%.Significant differences were found between the two groups(P < 0.05).Among the 135 cases subjected to both the DNA ploidy analysis with liquid-based cytology and the routine cervical cytology, 50 positive and 85 negative cases were found after the routine cervical cytologic diagnosis, whereas 74 positive and 61 negative cases were tested with the DNA ploidy analysis with liquid-based cytology.Cervical biopsy with a histological diagnosis level of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 11 and above for the lesion was established as the evaluation standard.The sensitivity of liquid-based cytology detection was 32.3%, and the specificity was 97.3%.The sensitivity and specificity of DNA ploidy analysis technique were 62.4%and 82.6%, respectively.Both the sensitivity and specificity were statistically significant(P < 0.05).

  Conclusion  The detection rate of the combined application of liquid-based cytology and DNA ploidy analysis technique for cervical cancer and precancerous lesion detection was significantly higher than that of conventional cervical cytology detection methods.Thus, the combined technique of DNA ploidy analysis and liquid-based cytology is the more sensitive method.