Newswise NORTHFIELD, ILL. The College of American Pathologists (CAP) and the American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology (ASCCP) jointly issued The Lower Anogenital Squamous Terminology (LAST) Standardization Project for HPV-Associated Lesions: Background and Consensus Recommendations.

The CAP/ASCCP LAST Project consensus recommendations were released on June 28, 2012, in the online editions of Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine (Archives) and in the Journal of Lower Genital Tract Disease (JLGTD), the official journals of the CAP and the ASCCP, respectively.

The new recommendations provide standardization of diagnostic terminology of lesions associated with the human papillomavirus (HPV) across lower anogenital tract body sites, including the appropriate use of biomarkers to distinguish these lesions. Through implementation of the recommendations, the two organizations aim to enhance communication between pathologists and clinicians leading to more effective patient management of HPV-associated disease and, ultimately, improved patient outcomes.

The CAP/ASCCP LAST Project consensus recommendations were developed based on the availability of new science, allowing pathologists to better classify HPV-associated lesions, said Teresa M. Darragh, MD, FCAP, the lead author of and steering committee co-chair for the LAST Project consensus recommendations and a professor of clinical pathology and obstetrics, gynecology & reproductive sciences at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) and an attending physician in the UCSF/Mt. Zion Dysplasia Clinic in San Francisco, Calif. With this information, patients along with their physicians will be able to better weigh the benefits and risks of management options associated with HPV infections, allowing them to make more informed decisions about their health.

The recommendations were developed based on an extensive literature review of the terminology used historically, how terminology influences management of HPV-associated lesions by body sites, and the role of biomarkers in their diagnosis.

The CAP Pathology & Laboratory Quality Center, the Center, a forum for developing evidence-based guidelines and consensus recommendations, led the joint development of the LAST Projects consensus recommendations. Thirty-five professional organizations collaborated and participated in the review and final approval of the recommendations, which will be published in the July issue of JLGTD and in the October issue of Archives.

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About the College of American Pathologists The College of American Pathologists (CAP) celebrating 50 years as the gold standard in laboratory accreditation, is a medical society serving more than 18,000 physician members and the global laboratory community. It is the world's largest association composed exclusively of board-certified pathologists and is the worldwide leader in laboratory quality assurance. The College advocates accountable, high-quality, and cost-effective patient care.

About the American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology (ASCCP) The ASCCP is a non-profit professional organization of 3,300 members whose primary mission is the education of healthcare providers about the diagnosis and management of diseases of the lower female reproductive system, especially cervical cancer and its precursors.The Journal of Lower Genital Tract Disease, the official journal of the ASCCP, is the leading source for the latest science in its field.

In September 2001 at the National Institutes of Health, ASCCPproduced the first Consensus Guidelines for the Management of Women with CervicalCytological Abnormalities and the Management of Women with Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia. Draft guidelines with supporting evidence were presented, discussed, revised as needed and then voted upon by the appointed delegates representing 29 major medical organizations and federal agencies.The resulting cytology guidelines were published in JAMA (Wright TC, et al. 2002 Apr 24;287(16):2120-9.) and the histology guidelines in AJOG (Wright TC Jr, et al.2003 Jul;189(1):295-304.)In 2006, ASCCP conducted a second Consensus Conference, using the same 29 partner groups and the multistep, evidence-based review process, to revise the 2001 guidelines. The 2006 guidelines were published in AJOG and the JLGTD.

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New Recommendations Released in Diagnosis of HPV-Associated Squamous Lesions