Analysis of the Association Between Minor Cervical Cytological Abnormalities and Consequent Pathology Results According to HPV Types

Özet

Objective: Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the leading cause of cervical cancer. Although screening programs involving cervical cytology and HPV DNA have greatly reduced the incidence of cervical cancer in the last decades, attempts to increase the accuracy of these programs are still ongoing. The objective of this study is to evaluate the association of cervical colposcopic biopsy pathology results in women with minor smear abnormalities in an HPV type-specific manner. Methods: Women who underwent a colposcopic cervical biopsy due to HPV DNA posi- tivity or minor cervical cytological anomalies and tested positive for HPV DNA in a single tertiary center between 2011 and 2019 were retrospectively evaluated. Three groups were formed according to the detected HPV types. The first group consists of women infected with HPV 16 or 18, the second group consists of women infected with only one type of high- risk HPV other than HPV 16/18, and the third group includes patients infected with multiple types of high-risk HPV other than HPV 16/18. Results: Four hundred thirty patients met inclusion criteria within the selected period and were included in the study. The mean age of the population was 33.4±6.6 and the mean parity was 2.1±1.1. The prevalence of ≥CIN 2 lesions in the first and third group of patients were similar, however infection with a single type of high-risk HPV, except for HPV 16/18, was significantly lower in ≥CIN 2 lesions compared to the other two groups. Conclusion: Multiple type HPV infections in low grade cytology results even in the absence of HPV 16/18 seems to warrant a cautious approach