Associations of multi-human papillomavirus infections with expression of p16 in a cohort of women who underwent colposcopy: a retrospective study of 5165 patients

OBJECTIVE: Investigate HPV types in cervical specimens, their correlation with p16 expression in lesions, and diagnostic value for cervical lesions. Enhance clinical diagnosis reliability. METHODS: Retrospective cross-sectional study at Fujian Maternity and Child Health Hospital’s Cervical Disease Center (Jun 2019-Dec 2021). Patients with abnormal cervical screening underwent colposcopy and conization. Pathological diagnosis based on colposcopy, cervical biopsy, ECC, and conization. Analyzed HPV genotyping (18 HR-HPV, 5 LR-HPV) and p16 expression correlation. Statistical analysis used R software. RESULTS: he expression of p16 is significantly associated with the infection of high-risk HPV types, such as 16, 33, 52, and 58, with an increased risk of 1.4 times or higher (OR=1.91, 3.14, 1.40, and 1.78, respectively). The risk of p16 expression increased 4-fold for multiple high-risk HPV types [adjusted OR (95% CI) = 4 (2.92~5.5), P-value <0.001]. Compared to the p16(-) group, the p16(+) group had a higher association with cervical lesions worse than HSIL (High-grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesions).In the group with multiple Human Papillomavirus Infections with types 16, 33, 52, and 58, the risk of cervical lesions worse than HSIL increased by up to 660-fold compared to the negative group (adjusted OR=660.62, 95% CI: 91.39~4775.53, P<0.001), indicating that this combination of HPV types posed the greatest risk for cervical lesions above HSIL. CONCLUSIONS: p16 plays a crucial role in cervical lesion progression, linked to high-risk HPV. Combining p16 with HPV screening improves cervical cancer detection. Studying multiple HPV infections will enhance prevention and management.