High-risk human papillomavirus genotyping in women with atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance

We conducted a prospective study to evaluate the prevalence of high-risk human papillomavirus (hr-HPV) positivity in women with atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASC-US). Additionally, we assessed the association of hr-HPV positivity with the pathology of high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions or worse (HSIL(+)) and the risk of subsequent detection of squamous intraepithelial lesions. A total of 376 women were included, with 242 (64.4%) exhibiting hr-HPV positivity. The predominant HPV genotypes were 16, 52 and 58. Factors associated with the immediate detection of HSIL(+) pathology included a colposcopic impression of high-grade lesions, hr-HPV positivity, HPV 16 positivity, HPV 18 positivity, HPV 58 positivity, age less than 40 years, and biopsy of two or more pieces. However, only the first three factors were statistically significant in multivariate analysis. Among the 291 women who continued surveillance for 6 months or more, the median follow-up period was 41.8 months (interquartile range [IQR] 26.5–54.0). The prevalence of subsequent HSIL in women with hr-HPV positivity versus negativity was 3.6% versus 0.98%, respectively. The median time to the subsequent detection of SIL was 28.7 months (IQR 14.9–41.7). In conclusion, women with ASC-US in our study had a high proportion of hr-HPV positivity. Type-specific HPV testing could play a pivotal role in the development of specific management protocols for women with ASC-US. Clinical trial registration: https://thaiclinicaltrials.org, TCTR20161017002.