A Six-Year Gynecological Follow-Up of Immunosuppressed Women with a High-Risk Human Papillomavirus Infection

Aleksandra Wielgos, Bronisława Pietrzak, Barbara Suchonska, Mariusz Sikora, Lidia Rudnicka and Miroslaw Wielgos
Additional contact information
Aleksandra Wielgos: Department of Dermatology, Medical University of Warsaw, 02-008 Warsaw, Poland
Bronisława Pietrzak: 1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical University of Warsaw, 02-115 Warsaw, Poland
Barbara Suchonska: 1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical University of Warsaw, 02-115 Warsaw, Poland
Mariusz Sikora: National Institute of Geriatrics, Rheumatology and Rehabilitation, 02-006 Warsaw, Poland
Lidia Rudnicka: Department of Dermatology, Medical University of Warsaw, 02-008 Warsaw, Poland
Miroslaw Wielgos: 1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical University of Warsaw, 02-115 Warsaw, Poland

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 6, 1-9

Abstract: Immunocompromised women are at an increased risk of developing malignancies, especially those that are viral-induced, such as invasive cervical cancer caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). The aim of the study was to describe gynecological follow-up of women undergoing chronic immunosuppressive therapy for various reasons (e.g., kidney/liver transplant, systemic lupus erythematosus), diagnosed with a high-risk HPV (hrHPV) infection based on a self-sampling test. Twenty-six hrHPV-positive women were invited to take part in a gynecological follow-up, including a visual assessment of the anogenital region, two-handed gynecological examination, and cervical cytology as well as a colposcopy and cervical biopsy when necessary. Four women declined taking part in the study. Over six years of observation, low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSIL) were detected at least once in 7/22 women (31.8%), and a cervical intraepithelial lesion 1 (CIN 1) histopathologic result was obtained five times in 3/22 women. No cases of high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions, CIN 2/3, or invasive cervical cancers were observed. Loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP) was performed in three patients. As immunocompromised women are prone to persistent hrHPV infections, they should be under strict gynecological supervision because only vigilant surveillance enables fast detection and treatment of early dysplasia and, therefore, provides a chance for the reduction of the cervical cancer burden.

Keywords: HPV; human papillomavirus; immunosuppression; transplantation; cervical cancer; self-sampling (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/6/3531/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/6/3531/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:6:p:3531-:d:772602

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().