Utility of Human Papillomavirus Genotyping for Triage of Patients with Atypical Squamous Cells of Undetermined Significance by Cervical Cytology.

BACKGROUND/AIM: No human papillomavirus (HPV) type-specific guidelines exist for managing cases of patients with atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASC-US) by cervical cytology. Herein, we investigated ASC-US triage strategies using HPV genotyping to identify methods that are potentially superior to triage, using Hybrid Capture 2.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

In this retrospective cohort study, 144 Korean women with ASC-US cytology underwent HPV genotyping and punch biopsy under colposcopy/endocervical curettage. We created a model for ASC-US triage using HPV genotyping in these patients. The sensitivity of the final triage criterion was internally validated using bootstrapping.

RESULTS

Positivity for HPV16, 18, 31, 33, 52 and 58 genotype corresponded to a referral rate of 63% and detection of 92% of cases of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 or higher. The referral and detection rates for such cases increased in proportion to the number of high-risk HPV types. The sensitivity of genotyping for HPV16, 18, 31, 33, 52 and 58 was 92%.

CONCLUSION

The study demonstrates that HPV genotyping of specific HR-HPV types may be an effective strategy in ASC-US triage and may replace conventional HPV tests.