This research is a randomized, prospective trial designed to evaluate the value of magnification in making a diagnosis of high grade intraepithelial lesions of the cervix. The overall goal is to evaluate a cervical cancer screening protocol that provides the highest level of care possible for low-resource communities and hard-to-reach areas. Currently, a national cervical cancer screening and diagnosis program does not exist within Haiti.
All women meeting inclusion criteria will be randomized to portable (8x magnification with the Cerviscope) or conventional (25x magnification) colposcopy. After application of acetic acid to the cervix, the physician will record naked eye observations of the cervix by: 1) recording the location of all white lesions; 2) describing the vascular pattern; and 3) stating his/her clinical impression of a diagnosis. The physician will then follow-up with use of either the portable or the conventional colposcope to: 1) record the location of all white lesions; 2) describe the vascular pattern; and 3) state a clinical impression of diagnosis. Women will have biopsies in all four quadrants of the cervix even if no cervical lesions are seen to evaluate the accuracy of the visualization techniques against the gold standard of biopsy pathologic results. Treatment options will be dictated by biopsy results.
Biopsy material will also be evaluated for specific HPV genotype using lab-based measures. Results of these genotypes will be compared between women with high-grade disease vs. low-grade disease and in the subset of women with HIV compared to the HIV-negative population.
