HPV Presence and Cervical Cancer Risk
Author Information
Author(s): Zielinski G D, Snijders P J F, Rozendaal L, Voorhorst F J, Linden H C van der, Runsink A P, Schipper F A de, Meijer C J L M
Primary Institution: Department of Pathology, Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University Hospital Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam
Hypothesis
Does the presence of high-risk HPV DNA in cervical smears precede abnormal cytology in women who develop cervical cancer?
Conclusion
High-risk HPV presence is found before abnormal cytology in women who later develop cervical cancer, indicating that HPV testing can identify false-negative smears.
Supporting Evidence
- 65% of women who developed cervical cancer had high-risk HPV in their baseline smears.
- Only 6% of control women had high-risk HPV in their smears.
- 84% of the baseline smears of case women were reclassified as abnormal after cytological revision.
Takeaway
The study found that women who later got cervical cancer often had HPV in their earlier tests, even when those tests looked normal.
Methodology
A retrospective case-control study analyzing HPV DNA presence in cervical smears of women who developed cervical cancer compared to age-matched controls.
Potential Biases
Potential bias in selecting control women and in the interpretation of archived smears.
Limitations
The study is retrospective and relies on archived smears, which may not represent current testing methods.
Participant Demographics
57 women who developed cervical cancer and 114 age-matched control women.
Statistical Information
Confidence Interval
95% Cl 11–72
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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