So I had my first smear and the results on the NHS App are confusing me. It says I have high risk HPV, which I understand is the cancer causing types. Under the cervical cytology report it says I have low grade squamous dyskaryosis but under the grade report it says 3. I’ve been invited to a colposcopy so am I right in thinking this isn’t “low grade” at all? I am only 29 so I’m freaking out a little. I was given the vaccine at 12/13 so that’s the only little bit of positivity I have at the moment.
Hi J1e0s2s and welcome to our group.
I’m sorry you have some confusion over your results-it’s not uncommon to be confused when we are reading things on the app and not having them clearly explained.
Cervical screening has testing for hpv as the first step when you have your smear and they are looking for the high risk strains of hpv (there are 200 or more different strains of hpv).
There are a number of strains which can POTENTIALLY cause cancer, so when high risk hpv is identified, the next step is the colposcopy to have a closer look at your cervix and check for any cell changes. If any cell changes are identified, this doesn’t mean you have cervical cancer.
The changes in cells are graded in levels of 1,2 and 3 ( dyskariosis is also called CIN which stands for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia-basically meaning cell changes) and your changes at this point have been grade as low grade. This might change from the examination and testing at the colposcopy, but low grade changes do not indicate cervical cancer. I think you are perhaps getting confused between the words “high risk” and “low grade”.
Please try not to let your mind run away with scary thoughts at the moment-you have some cell changes which have been identified which are low grade and the colposcopy will give you further information. When you have your colposcopy, a liquid will be applied to your cervix which will highlight any areas of abnormal cells, and these can be removed if necessary under a quick procedure in clinic. As you are young, you may not need any treatment at all as it’s possible for these low grade cells to regress on their own. So please don’t despair!
The vaccine has been hugely helpful for women, but it doesn’t cover every strain of high risk hpv. However, it’s positive that you have received it to reduce your risk.
Please let us know how you get on, and if we can help with any more questions then please feel free to ask.
Sarah xx
Hi Delayedstart2024 and welcome to our group.
You are quite correct-there are different grades of results under cytology, and this grade is low risk. I think there could be confusion about CIN3 and the cytology result of “3” and the actual CIN actual level is not stated in the report.
I’ve added the link to the government guidance on the screening programme here:
Sarah xx
