This study was performed to evaluate the effects of mutiple indications and age on the likelihood of finding cervical lesion in large loop excision of transformation zone(LLETZ).

We reviewed the medical records of 471 evaluable LLETZ of cervix for cervical neoplasia at the Yonsei University College of Medicine, from April 1996 to August l998. The indications for the LLETZ were grouped as being for treatment(biopsy-proven disease)(indication A), significant discrepancy among cytologic and histologic results(indication B), unsatisfactory colposcopic finding(transformation zone not fully visualized)(indication C), possible microinva- sion(indication D), and combinations of the above.

The prevalence rates of cervical lesion in performed LLETZ for indication A alone, for indication B alone, for a combination of indication A and C, for a combination B and C, and for indication D alone were 85.7%, 56.5%, 82.3%, 42.6%, 95%, respectively. The data were then reanalyzed to determine the likelihood of finding high-grade disease on LLETZ specimen. Overall, those with preoperative high-grade cytologic or histologic characteristics were much more likely to have high grade disease(78.1%) than were those with preoperative low-grade cytologic or histologic characteristics(27.2%)(p<0.001). The influence of age on the likelihood of identifying diasease on the LLETZ is undertermined.

Neither age nor the preoperative grade of disease are good discriminators of the likelihood that disease will be found on a LLETZ specimen, However, patients with preoperative high-grade disease are much more likely than those with preoperative low-grade disease to have high-grade dysplasia or invasive cancer on LLETZ.