Effect of perilesional injection of alpha-interferon on cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and associated human papillomavirus infection.

In this controlled prospective study, 14 patients with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) were observed for one month to exclude spontaneous regression, and then seven patients were treated twice-weekly with perilesional injections of alpha-interferon. Both groups were monitored colposcopically, and advised to use the contraceptive sheath. Cervical smears and biopsies for histology and viral studies were taken before and after the study. There was an improvement of six out of seven of the study group, with two complete cures. Koilocytosis disappeared if it had been present initially, as did human papillomavirus (HPV) 16. By contrast, three control cases showed improvement, but there were no cures, and one case deteriorated; Koilocytosis (2 cases) did not change; HPV 16 disappeared in two controls and appeared in one. A new focus of dysplasia appeared in a part of the transformation zone not being treated with alpha-interferon in one of the study cases, illustrating the advisability of treating the whole transformation zone in CIN.