Flexible Magnifying Endoscopy with Narrow Band Imaging for Diagnosing Uterine Cervical Neoplasms: A Multicenter Prospective Study

We aimed to investigate the diagnostic ability of magnifying endoscopy with narrow band imaging (ME-NBI) for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 or worse (CIN2+). This was a multicenter prospective study. Eligible patients had positive Pap smear results or follow-up high-grade cytology or CIN3 diagnosed in referring hospitals. Patients underwent ME-NBI by a gastrointestinal endoscopist, followed by colposcopy by a gynecologist. One lesion with the worst finding was considered the main lesion. Punch biopsies were collected from all indicated areas and one normal area. The reference standard was the highest histological grade among all biopsy specimens. The primary endpoint was the detection rate of patients with CIN2+ in the main lesion. The secondary endpoints were diagnostic ability for CIN2+ lesions and patients’ acceptability. We enrolled 88 patients. The detection rate of ME-NBI for patients with CIN2+ was 79% (95% CI: 66–88%; p = 1.000), which was comparable to that of colposcopy (79%; p = 1.000). For diagnosing CIN2+ lesions, ME-NBI showed a better sensitivity than colposcopy (87% vs. 74%, respectively; p = 0.302) but a lower specificity (50% vs. 68%, respectively; p = 0.210). Patients graded ME-NBI as having significantly less discomfort and involving less embarrassment than colposcopy. ME-NBI did not show a higher detection ability than colposcopy for patients with CIN2+, whereas it did show a better patient acceptability.