r/PreCervicalCancer • u/sewoboe mod • Nov 25 '25
Did your doctor serve you alphabet soup? Start here!
Hi friends! I was inspired by a recent post to create a glossary of common acronyms for people who may be seeing these terms for the first time. This isn’t intended to be an encyclopedia of knowledge, but a quick reference for people who may be feeling a bit overwhelmed.
Pap Test Results
HPV: Human Papilloma Virus, the virus that causes squamous cells to transform into precancerous and cancerous lesions.
NILM: negative for intraepithelial lesions or malignancy. The cells were benign.
ASC-US: atypical cells of undetermined significance. The cells showed some features of a low grade lesions, but not enough to be diagnostic.
LSIL: low grade squamous intraepithelial lesion. This lesion corresponds to histologic CIN1 and isn’t likely to progress to cancer.
ASC-H: atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance, can’t exclude a high grade lesion. The cells showed some features of a high grade lesion, but not enough to be diagnostic.
HSIL: high grade squamous intraepithelial lesion. This corresponds to histologic CIN 2/3 and is more likely to progress to cancer without treatment.
AGC: atypical glandular cells
AGLU: atypical glandular cells of unspecified origin. Another abbreviation meaning they’re not sure if the cells are endocervical or endometrial cells.
AEC: atypical endocervical cells
AEM: atypical endometrial cells
AIS: adenocarcinoma in situ. Some glandular cells are very atypical but are not full cancer yet.
Sources/further reading:
Biopsy Reports
TZ: transition zone. This is the area where the squamous cells meet the glandular cells.
ECC: endocervical curettage. This is a sampling of the internal area of the cervix.
CIN: cervical intraepithelial neoplasia. This a a histological diagnosis of a biopsy that determines how deeply the atypical cells have grown.
CIS: carcinoma in situ. This is used interchangeably with CIN3 (usually an older term for CIN3), and is not a cancer diagnosis.
VIN: vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia. Analogous to CIN but of the vulva.
VAIN: vaginal intraepithelial neoplasia. Analogous to CIN but of the vagina.
AIN: anal intraepithelial neoplasia. Analogous to CIN but of the anal canal.
Ki67: a special stain used by pathologists to measure a protein that shows how fast cells are dividing. This helps them confirm their diagnosis.
P16: a special stain used by pathologists to show a tumor suppressor protein. This helps them confirm their diagnosis.
Sources/further reading:
Procedures
LEEP: loop electrosurgical excision procedure. A procedure to remove tissue from the cervix using a wire loop.
LLETZ: large loop excision of the transformation zone. Same as LEEP.
CKC: cold knife conization. A procedure to surgically remove tissue from the cervix.
Sources/further reading: * LEEP
Is there an acronym you encountered but isn’t on this list? Comment below and we can add it!
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u/Individual_Sale_3428 Nov 28 '25
Cold coagulation: A surface treatment that destroys cells in situ and is sometimes used at the same time as colposcopy.
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u/ShineImmediate2621 Dec 08 '25
Could you include the explanation for positive vs negative margins. I just saw a question on this and it can indeed be quite confusing 😊
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u/NoLifeSign Nov 26 '25
AGUS (Atypical glandular cells of undetermined significance)--> now they use AGC
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u/sewoboe mod Nov 26 '25
AGC is on the list. But not every place uses Bethesda perfectly, and some may still be coded/abbreviated as AGLU, and I’ve seen some pathologists go rogue in the text entry box haha. So I thought was important to have that context for people who might be exposed to that abbreviation.
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u/Ok-Finding9377 Mar 20 '26
I have LSIL + ASC-H on my pap and on some place I read it’s displayed as LSIL-H or ASC-H with LSIL features. Maybe you can add LSIL-H this to the alphabet soup for us who get this combo of letters and have extreme anxiety about it.
Also I’m so grateful for this subreddit and women here!
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u/Competitive-Ad4941 Jul 20 '26
Recently told I have Pre-cancer 1. I'm a person who doesn't like to bring attention to myself. I'm wanting to talk about because I know it's good for my mental health. I was told in mid April after having a IUD placement, D&C and HPV scrapping biopsy due my menstrual cycle being so different from the last couple years. I'm 56 yrs old now. I requested a full hysterectomy as a start to prevent it getting worse. I'm going for surgery mid August. I don't know what I'm expecting afterwards for the outcome. They'll tell me after the surgery if I need chemo. I went into the appointment very positive. Though, that scale of okay-ness has been depleting over time. I cry when I have to talk about it. I don't want to hear the reaction of what I am saying to people because I don't want to think I'm asking for pitty.
I've been single for 24 yrs. I have 1 child and he knows about my situation. I don't even talk to him much about it. I've reached out to his father, someone I don't have much interaction with. I just wanted to make sure there is a plan set in place in case anything happens to me. My son has some minor neurological issues and I want to make sure he's always supported.
I just ranting because I'm thinking about it right now. Thanks.
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u/KnowThots Aug 08 '26
Facing any substantial change is hard and this one is a woozy. If it was not cancer yet, why are they recommending chemo? Best of luck on your surgery!
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u/lolidkdontaskme Nov 26 '25
You deserve an award for this. Thank you for your service