First Symposium on Diagnostic Medicine, Let's talk about: cervical-uterine lesions.

El Laboratorio Clínico Hematológico S.A., a company in specialized diagnostic medicine in the city of Medellin, presented last Thursday, June 9, 2022, in the Auditorium Los Cámbulos, in its main headquarters Patio Bonito, the first edition of the "Symposium of Diagnostic Medicine, Let's talk about:", an event that aims to generate an academic and discussion space, with a friendly, warm and artistic environment, around a topic of common interest for different people in the health area. This, as part of its purpose of socializing and sharing current medical knowledge, in a clear and scientifically based way, leading to continuous improvement in the quality of patient care from different approaches.

On this occasion, "Cervical-uterine lesions" were the topic of conversation, due to their great impact on the health and lives of women around the world. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cervical cancer is the fourth most prevalent cancer in the world among women, with about 90% of new cases of the disease and of deaths from this cause coming from developing countries, such as Colombia. In the country it represents the third most frequent type of cancer and the fourth with the highest mortality in women (figures for 2020). Given that it is a preventable neoplasm, providing adequate knowledge for the interpretation of screening tests and the therapeutic approach, together with the optimization of the use of resources, will ensure the survival of women free of this disease.

This edition addressed the problem with different approaches, from the use of cytological and molecular tools for the detection of cervical lesions and the genotypes of its main causal agent, the human papillomavirus (HPV), to the guidelines for the classification and clinical management of cervical neoplasia, screening for the disease from a public health approach and the clinical-pathological correlation of cases. Six nationally and internationally recognized speakers participated in the event:

Mónica Gil Molina, medical specialist in pathology, pathologist of the Pathology Laboratory of Clínica Las Américas AÚNA. Dr. Mónica began the event with a lecture entitled "Update in the WHO 2020 classification of cervical neoplasms", in which she spoke about the change in the distinction from cell morphology alone to make it based on its association or not with HPV.

René Pareja Franco, gynecologist, oncologist, laparoscopist. Oncologist of the Astorga Oncology Clinic in Medellin and the National Cancer Institute in Bogota, with the conference "Update on management guidelines in cervical cancer" of the NCCN (National Comprehensive Cancer Network), version 2022. Dr. Pareja spoke about the consensus categories for oncologic management, the inclusion of Radiology and Pathology as part of the information to classify patients, and the search for the preservation of women's fertility in milder stages.

Laura Joanna Tapia Vela, medical specialist in pathology. Head of Anatomic Pathology at Laboratorio Clínico Hematológico S.A., with the lecture "Liquid-based cytology. Findings and advantages in relation to conventional cytology". Dr. Laura shared the evolution of the use of cervical cytology for cervical cancer screening, from the introduction of the conventional technique to the inclusion of liquid-based cytology, neoplastic and non-neoplastic findings, and the limitations of conventional cytology that are improved by liquid-based cytology.

Jairo Alonso Mesa Arango, microbiologist and bioanalyst, with doctoral training in Biology. Coordinator of the Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory of Laboratorio Clínico Hematológico with his lecture "Detection and genotyping of HPV by molecular methods" in which he spoke about the classification of HPV genotypes, the different molecular techniques available to detect them, their relationship with the risk of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 3 (CIN 3) and the future of molecular techniques for this purpose.

Gloria Inés Sánchez Vásquez, microbiologist, with doctorate in molecular microbiology and immunology, and postdoctorate in cancer epidemiology and infection. Coordinator of the Infection and Cancer Research Group of the School of Medicine and the School of Public Health of the University of Antioquia, who presented the conference entitled "State of the Art in Protocols for screening and triage of cervical lesions caused by the Human Papilloma Virus". On this occasion, Dr. Sanchez spoke about cervical cancer screening from a public health approach, emphasizing the importance of having a high coverage, using the most appropriate screening technique, and also having an effective therapeutic plan accessible to all women, and with an organized follow-up.

Jairo Amaya Guío, specialist in obstetrics and gynecology from Universidad Nacional, specialist in epidemiology. Professor at the National University of Colombia and Latin American Master of Colposcopy. Dr. Amaya, together with Dr. Laura Tapia, performed the clinical-pathological correlation of five clinical cases of cervical lesions, in which the public could participate and discuss.

At the end of the event, the event featured a special presentation by Ensamble ARCOB, with the experiential conference entitled "Women in the history of music". The group since 2018 has developed a research work related to the contribution of women in the social, cultural and, especially, musical structure. This has allowed them to recognize female referents in the area of musical composition who have dared to challenge their socio-political contexts and ask questions such as how did women have to fight for their rights? how in music did they also have to fight to publish their works?

The concert was a short journey through the women who for many composers were their source of inspiration, a journey between research and music. Among the pieces they presented were:

The Sleeping Beauty Waltz - Pyotr Tchaikovsky
Candita - Adolfo Mejía
Bird Charming - Amparo Ángel
La Cenerentolla - Gioachino Rossini
El Alba - Teresa Tanco
Gloria Beatriz - León Cardona
Black Christmas - José Barros

As an essential part of the event, the work of Alejandra Cañas, Hematológico's illustrator, who designed the main image of the event's theme, composed of nine women of different types, bodies, races, hair and builds, stands out. According to the artist, the illustration was inspired by the works of the symbolist painter by the works of the Austrian symbolist painter Gustav Klimt, which are characterized compositions with female figures that mingle with each other, with patterns and textures full of color. Likewise, in the microscopic images of the biopsy specimens, orterines, composed of the different textures of the cellular and pitellar tissue and thepitelial tissue and the beautiful colors provided by the histological stains used for their observation.