title: [Human papillomavirus testing in cervical cancer screening].
abstract: Virtually all cases of cervical cancer are caused by one of the 18 oncogenic types of human papillomavirus (HPV). It is estimated that 80% of all women will be infected by HPV in a lifetime, and the prevalence of HPV is highest among young, sexually active women and declines with increasing age. The risk of developing high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions depends on the actual HPV type,the duration of infection, and the viral load. Due to the high prevalence of HPV infection, HPV testing in young women is of little value. The high negative predictive value of this test, combined with nor-mal Papanicolaou smear results, almost ensures that the patient is or will be free of a cancer precursor at the time of testing or in the immediate future. Hence, HPV testing combined with cytology is a reasonable approach in elderly women in order to increase the screening interval to 3-5 years. HPV testing is established for triage of borderline cytology findings of atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance if colposcopy is not performed immediately and if HPV-negative women are rescheduled within 12 months. HPV testing 6 months after cone biopsy allows increasing the follow-up interval due to its high negative predictive value. In atypical glandular lesions not otherwise specified, HPV testing may identify patients requiring immediate treatment. In immunocompromised patients with borderline cytology due to persistent HPV infection, HPV test-ing identifies patients with a low risk of cancer precursors not requiring treatment.
authors.affiliation: Klinik für Gynäkologie, Departement Frauenheilkunde, Universitätsspital Zürich, Zürich, Schweiz. Mathias.Fehr@usz.ch
authors.forename: Mathias K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Fehr
authors.forename: Stéphane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Welti
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001706:Biopsy; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D002584:Cervix Uteri / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D065006:Papanicolaou Test; D027383:Papillomaviridae; D030361:Papillomavirus Infections / Q000473:pathology*; D011230:Precancerous Conditions / Q000473:pathology* / Q000821:virology; D012307:Risk Factors; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000821:virology; D014626:Vaginal Smears; D019562:Viral Load; D002578:Uterine Cervical Dysplasia / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology