title: The prognostic significance of acetowhitening of the vulva and HPV-DNA test. A multicentre study.
abstract: Acetowhitening of the vulva has been related to a subclinical human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. No consense has been reached about undertaking -or not- any therapy for these acetowhite changes. We have observed from our clinical experience and in a 10 years observational follow-up, that acetowhitening of the vulva regarding high risk (16-18) and low risk (6-11) HPV groups (as assessed by PCR analysis) significantly decreased; and acetowhitening areas negative to polymerase chain reaction (PCR), significantly increased from 53% (202/382) to 85% (276/325) (P<0.001). Our findings suggest that independently from HPV type and in the absence of cofactors, there is a statistically significant spontaneous remission of these areas.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2nd Chair, University 'La Sapienza' of Rome, Rome, Italy. a.frega@tin.it
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Frega
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Stentella
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Anceschi
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Piazze
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tinari
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pachí
authors.forename: E V
authors.initials: EV
authors.lastname: Cosmi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Marchionni
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Villani
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003127:Colposcopy; D003267:Contraception; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D027383:Papillomaviridae / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D014844:Vulva / Q000473:pathology* / Q000821:virology*
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral