Determination of human papillomavirus (HPV) load and type in high-grade cervical lesions surgically resected from HIV-infected women during follow-up of HPV infection

Background. The role of human papillomavirus (HPV) load and the importance of multiple-strain HPV infections as biomarkers for the development of cervical disease were evaluated in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive women. Methods. A total of 108 samples were analyzed, 64 of which were obtained from 16 HIV-positive women who underwent surgical resection of the cervical cone for treatment of a histologically confirmed high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasm (cases) and 44 of which were obtained from 22 HIV-positive women who had high-risk HPV but a negative colposcopy result (controls). Each patient underwent periodic examinations at 6-12-month intervals that included colposcopy, Papanicolaou testing, biopsy (if indicated), and cervical brushing for HPV testing. Viral typing was performed by reverse dot-blot hybridization and quantification of viral load by in-house real-time PCR and commercial assays. Results. Analysis of the cervical-brush samples collected when high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions were diagnosed revealed that all cases had HPV loads that were significantly higher than those of controls (P = .0004 and P = .0003, by PCR and the Hybrid Capture 2 index [Digene], respectively). Decreasing concentrations of HPV load were observed when comparing samples obtained before and after treatment (P <.0001). The number and type of HPV strains that were detected were not statistically different between cases and controls. Conclusions. The significantly higher HPV load detected in women with high-grade cervical dysplasia, as well as the dramatic decrease in the load after surgical removal of the lesion, suggest that HPV load is a possible prognostic marker of high-grade SIL.