Laboratory Services

"My patient had a history of post menopausal bleeding and had an abnormal Pap. The Pipelle came back with insufficient tissue. A D&C Hysteroscopy was done in the O.R., but that also came back with insufficient tissue. Lastly, I tried the Tao Brush and got a successful diagnosis off of cytology."

Marlo Carter M.D.

Women’s Wellness Healthcare Associates, Limerick, PA

CerVysion™ - The next generation of cervical cancer detection

CerVysion is a cervical FISH test that can aid in monitoring the possible progression of squamous intraepithelial lesions to invasive cervical cancer. Cervical cells taken from a biopsy are examined for chromosomal abnormalities via FISH, which has proven to be more specific than traditional cytological analysis. The CerVysion FISH probes are designed to detect gains in the 3q26.2 (TERC) chromosomal region.

Gains in 3q and amplification of TERC can indicate the potential for progression from cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN 1/CIN2) to CIN 3 and invasive carcinoma¹. Gains in 3q have been found in 33% of cytologically normal Pap smears from women eventually diagnosed with CIN3 or invasive cervical carcinoma after short latency. ^1,2

While ancillary HPV testing will detect and/or identify High Risk subtypes that lead to cervical cancer, it cannot provide information on the progression or regression of the infection. The increased sensitivity of CerVysion may allow for earlier detection and may mark the potential for progression of cervical cancer precursor lesions providing options for timely treatment.

Heselmeyer-Haddad, Kerstin et al. “Genomic Amplification of the Human Telomerase Gene (TERC) in Pap Smears Predicts the Development of Cervical Cancer.” The American journal of pathology. 166.4 (2005): 1229-1238.
Andersson, S et al. “Frequent gain of the human telomerase gene TERC at 3q26 in cervical adenocarcinomas.” British Journal of Cancer. 95.3 (2006): 331-338.

Additional References:

Lan, YL et al. "Gain of human telomerase RNA gene is associated with progression of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade I or II." Chinese Medicine Journal. 125.9 (2012): 1599-1602.
Yi, Jin et al. "Clinical significance of human telomerase RNA gene (hTERC) amplification in cervical squamous cell lesions detected by fluorescence in situ hybridization." Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention. 13.5 (2011): 1167-1171
Chen, SM et al. "Significance of human telomerase RNA gene amplification detection for cervical cancer screening." Asian Pacifice Journal of Cancer Prevention. 13.5 (2012): 2063-2068.