Tissue effects and host response. The key to the rational triage of cervical neoplasia.

Genital HPV infections are associated with a spectrum of lesions ranging from benign condylomata to invasive cancer and its precursor lesions. The transformation zone of the cervix is the most frequent target of the high-risk HPV types. Depending on the nomenclature used, cancer precursors are subdivided on the basis of their morphologic presentation into dysplasias (mild, moderate, and severe); cervical intraepithelial neoplasias (CIN I, II, and III); or low-grade and high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LGSILs and HGSILs). The HGSILs (i.e., moderate and severe dysplasias, CIN II and III lesions) are recognized universally as cancer precursors. The LGSILs (i.e., very mild dysplasia and mild dysplasias, condylomata and CIN I lesions), have shown that one of the most important denominators of their cancer potential is the presence of intermediate and particularly high-risk HPV types. HPV typing provides the most rational basis for selecting women with LGSILs to be colposcoped and treated or given follow-up treatment with Pap smears. Until the clinical significance of HPV typing is known, management decisions may be based on an individual's risk factors such as age, compliance, past history of abnormal Pap smears, sexual habits, and access to adequate cytologic diagnosis.