HPV DNA detection by in situ hybridization with catalyzed signal amplification on thin-layer cervical smears.

Thin layer-based technology in cervical cancer screening now allows both Papanicolaou staining and HPV testing on the same sample. Here, we show that in situ hybridization with catalyzed reporter deposition is a powerful HPV detection method when applied on thin-layer cervical smears, allowing distinction between two staining patterns suggestive of two different physical states of HPV DNA, where diffuse signals are suggestive of episomes and punctate signals are suggestive of viral DNA integration.