Screening properties of human papillomavirus testing for predicting cervical intraepithelial neoplasia in atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance and low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion smears: a prospective study.

The aim of the present study was to determine the usefulness of human papillomavirus (HPV) testing for predicting cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) 1 and 2 to 3 on cervical biopsies in women who had atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS) and low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL) on Papanicolaou tests. In this prospective cohort, 167 women with abnormal cytologic examination (ASCUS and LSIL) were evaluated by colposcopy-directed biopsy and endocervical curettage. Colposcopy was performed on all study participants to obtain cervical tissue for histologic examination for detection of underlying CIN in patients with an initial cytologic test result of ASCUS and LSIL. A sample for HPV DNA detection by polymerase chain reaction was obtained. The HPV type 16 was positive in 35.4% of the 167 women with abnormal cytologic examination result in our gynecologic outpatient's clinic. Histologic diagnosis of CIN 1 was found in 45 of 135 women with ASCUS and in 17 of 32 women with LSIL. According to the cytologic findings, the frequency of CIN grade 2 or 3 in patients classified as ASCUS and LSIL was 12.5% (17/135) and 18.7% (6/32), respectively. Of the ASCUS smears, 9.6% were positive for HPV type 16. The sensitivity of the HPV type 16 using polymerase chain reaction technique threshold in detecting CIN 1 and CIN 2 to 3 was 57% and 46% in ASCUS-LSIL cytologic examination, respectively. The positive predictive value of HPV type 16 ranged from 60% in patients with CIN 1 and 42% in CIN 2 to 3 in ASCUS-LSIL. By contrast, negative predictive value was 58% in patients with CIN 1 and 80% in CIN 2 to 3. The low positive predictive value of HPV testing with ASCUS smears suggests that HPV positivity could be not used for predicting the presence of CIN 2 to 3.