Association of human papillomavirus infection with cytology, colposcopy, histopathology, and risk factors in the development of low and high-grade lesions of the cervix.

PURPOSE Persistent human papilloma virus (HPV) infection is fundamental for the development of intraepithelial neoplasia and cervical cancer. The aim of this study was to examine the association between HPV infection and cervical cytology, colposcopy, biopsy and the risk factors entailed. METHODS The study included 784 patients tested by in situ hybridization for HPV type 6/11, 16/18 and 31/33/35 infection. The participants were divided into three categories according to the presence of high squamous intraepithelial lesions (H-SIL), low squamous intraepithelial lesions (L-SIL) and benign histologic findings. RESULTS Patients that had L-SIL and H-SIL demonstrated a significantly higher percentage of HPV infection than patients with benign histologic findings. The percentage of H-SIL was highest in patients infected with high risk (HR)-HPV types 16/18, who had sexual intercourse before the age of 16 years, with two to five sexual partners. CONCLUSION Among high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia, there is a high prevalence of HR-HPV types 16/18, which is associated with the number of sexual partners and early sexual activity. There was a significant association between the presence of abnormal cytology and HR-HPV 16/18 in both groups (H-SIL and L-SIL). Benign colposcopic findings were not found in any patient with H-SIL, where no patient had only one sexual partner.