TITLE:
Pap Test Screening among Vertically HIV-Infected Young Women
AUTHORS:
Hyppolite K. Tchidjou, Nicola Cotugno, Giuseppe Pontrelli, Emma C. Manno, Luana Coltella, De Vito Rita, Stefania Baldassari, Vittorio Colizzi, Paolo Rossi, Maria C. Lucchetti, Stefania Bernardi
KEYWORDS:
HPV; HIV; Genital Infections
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Infectious Diseases,
Vol.3 No.3,
August
20,
2013
ABSTRACT:
Background: The risk of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection and
cervical cancer has increased in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
infected women. Several other Genital Infections (GI), have been shown to act
as risk factors for the acquisition of HPV infection and for the development of
cervical cancer. Methods: In this
observational study, we evaluated the prevalence of HPV infection, GI and
cervical abnormalities among vertically HIV-infected young women in the early
years of sexual activity. HPV viral strains have been classified as high risk
and low risk to develop precancerous and cancerous lesions according to the WHO
classification. Results: Eighteen vertically HIV-infected young women and
eleven healthy age matched controls were studied. HIV-infected young women
showed a higher incidence of high risk HPV genotype infection compared to
healthy control. HIV-infected women affected by HPV presented lower levels of
CD4+ percentages. GI and Pap test did not show any relation with HPV
infection and effects were similar in both groups. Conclusion: HIV infection and low CD4+ percentages seem
to play a key role as risk factors for HPV-infection among HIV-infected young
women. Therefore, future efforts will be needed to improve the adherence of
HIV-infected young women in HPV pap test screening considering the lower
ability of these patients to clear the HPV infection.