Purpose: To evaluate the value of colposcopy during excisional treatment of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN).
Methods: Data from 469 women who underwent excisional treatment for CIN in three different hospitals between January 2005 and December 2009 were reviewed. Margins status and surgical specimen dimensions were analyzed according to the use of colposcopy during procedure.
Results: The rate of negative margins was not significantly different between women who had excision performed without colposcopic examination, with colposcopy immediately before excision and with direct colposcopic vision (DCV): 74 (62.2%), 186 (72.9%) and 25 (67.6%), respectively (p = 0.107). DCV allowed for significantly higher probability to achieve both negative margins and depth of specimen of less than 10 mm: 22 (18.5%) versus 70 (27.5%) versus 14 (37.8%), respectively (p = 0.039). In multivariate analysis, compared to women who had excision without any use of colposcopy, DCV allowed for significant and independent reduction in both depth (ß: -2.46; 95%CI: -4.45 to -0.47; p = 0.015) and diameter (ß: -4.80; 95%CI: -7.14 to -2.47; p < 0.001) of the surgical specimen. Compared to the use of colposcopy immediately before excision, DCV allowed for a significant and independent reduction in diameter of the surgical specimen (ß: -6.57; 95%CI: -8.78 to -4.35; p < 0.001) without significantly changing its depth (ß: -1.10; 95%CI: -3.01 to -0.80; p = 0.255).
Conclusions: Use of colposcopy, and particularly of DCV during excisional procedures for CIN, allows for smaller surgical specimen without jeopardizing the margins status.