How common is it for a pathology report to return cin111 when it is actually cin1? i had a cone biopsy and the results came back showing only cin1!

Common: It is know that the biopsy can be off by as many as 2 degrees from the initial pap results. Be thankful that the biopsy went in the right direction and didn't show cancer.

CINI v. CINIII: The image offers a conception of how different cini is from ciniii. They are very different appearing. (thus the two would not likely be confused). Sometimes the dysplasia seen on biopsy is not seen on the final pathology because it was removed at initial biopsy or that area was seen in the areas standardly sampled (it is nearly impossible to sample every part of a specimen so it's standardized).

CIN: Cervical dysplasia is a fluid disease in that it can progress and regress depending on the strain of hpv involved with the dysplasia. Likewise, it is common for the cervix to have a range of dysplasia (cin 1, 2 and/or 3). It is also not uncommon for the biopsy to completely remove the worst disease, such that none remains in the cone biopsy.

Cervical bx: High grade changes (CIN 3) often occurs in a background of lower grade changes (CIN 1 and 2). They go together. So it is possible that the area of CIN 3 was removed by the first biopsy (if that is what you had) and there was only the lower grade changes left when the cone was done.