title: Association of cervical cytology and HPV DNA status during pregnancy with placental abnormalities and preterm birth.
abstract: The clinical implications of abnormal cervical cytology during pregnancy are unclear. Therefore, we performed the present study to determine the role of cervical cytologic screening during pregnancy in association with placental abnormalities and preterm birth. A review of 2,480 cases during 11 years revealed significant correlation of reactive, infectious, atypical, and dysplastic cytologic changes during pregnancy with abnormal placental findings. Also, all but dysplastic cytologic changes were significantly associated with preterm birth. Furthermore, we observed significant association of the presence of high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA with preterm birth and placental abnormalities. These findings indicate that cervical infection of HPV is a risk factor for preterm birth and that cervical cytology is an effective tool for screening women for infection and inflammation during pregnancy and predicting pregnancy outcome.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77054, USA.
authors.forename: Zhuang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zuo
authors.forename: Suman
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Goel
authors.forename: J Elliot
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Carter
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002584:Cervix Uteri / Q000473:pathology* / Q000821:virology; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D030361:Papillomavirus Infections / Q000150:complications*; D010920:Placenta / Q000473:pathology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D047928:Premature Birth / Q000209:etiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D002577:Uterine Cervical Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D014626:Vaginal Smears; D055815:Young Adult