Is electrosurgical loop excision with negative margins sufficient treatment for cervical ACIS?
OBJECTIVES: A recent clinical practice guideline supports the conservative management of adenocarcinoma in situ of the cervix (ACIS) diagnosed or suspected before treatment. However, patients may be diagnosed with unsuspected ACIS found in a loop electrosurgical excisional procedure (LEEP) specimen done for squamous dysplasia. To assess the outcome in this group of patients, we retrospectively analyzed all our cases of cervical ACIS and endocervical glandular dysplasia (EGD) to determine if LEEP was sufficient treatment. STUDY METHOD: A retrospective review of all patients treated for ACIS-EGD from 1990 to 2003 at Kingston General Hospital Colposcopy Clinic was undertaken. Sixty patients were identified. RESULTS: Of the 60 patients, 31 were diagnosed with ACIS-EGD only from the LEEP specimen. Twenty-two patients had ACIS and nine had EGD. Seven had further surgical procedures (five hysterectomies and two cold knife cone biopsies CKC) for positive LEEP margins. All seven of these specim