Cervical cancer screening in Canadian Native women. Adequacy of the Papanicolaou smear.

Cervical cancer mortality remains high in Canadian Native women in British Columbia. Underutilization of the Provincial Cytology Screening Program by Canadian Native women has been documented. Another potential factor is the quality of specimens obtained. Proportions of unsatisfactory smears and smears lacking endocervical cells, which reflect the sampling technique, were compared between Canadian Native and other British Columbian women. The findings suggest that differences in the quality of cytologic smears do not explain the observed discrepancy in cervical cancer mortality between Canadian Native and non-Native populations.