Cytologic features of squamous cell carcinoma in ThinPrep slides: evaluation of cases that performed poorly versus those that performed well in the College of American Pathologists Interlaboratory Comparison Program in Cervicovaginal Cytology

Abstract Context.—Although the cytologic features of squamous cell carcinoma in ThinPrep specimens are well known, whether these features are different in cases that are easily identified than in cases that are more difficult to identify is not known. Objective.—To determine the cytologic features of squamous cell carcinoma in ThinPrep specimens that are easy to identify versus those that are difficult. Design.—The cytologic features of 6 cases of squamous cell carcinoma that performed poorly in the College of American Pathologists Interlaboratory Comparison Program were compared with 14 cases that performed extremely well. Results.—After evaluation of multiple criteria, 7 different cytologic features were analyzed based on review by a consensus panel blinded to the performance of the cases. The feature that was most strongly associated with cases that performed poorly was the presence of Trichomonas vaginalis (5/6 [83%] vs 0/14; P < .001). The presence of marked nuclear pleomorphism was more common in ca...