Prevalence of Anal Cytological Abnormalities in Women With Positive Cervical Cytology

The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of cytological abnormalities of the anal mucosa in women with positive cervical cytology, but without macroscopic anal lesion. Ultimately we postulated if the anal mucosa may be a reservoir of HPV, which would allow the reinfection of cervix. Forty-nine patients with abnormal cervical cytology were selected for this work. In a period not exceeding one week of collecting cervix cytology, two swab specimens of the anal canal were also collected. Women diagnosed with cervical HSIL by Pap smear were referred for colposcopy with biopsy of the lesions, to confirm the cytologic diagnosis and ablation of the lesion. We demonstrated a high prevalence of anal squamous intraepithelial lesions in patients with cervical squamous intraepithelial lesions (29 of the total of 49 patients = 59.2%). Of the 20 cases of cervical LSIL, 11 (55%) had abnormal anal cytology. Of the 26 cases with cervical HSIL, 16 (61.5%) had abnormal anal cytology. So, there was a discrete higher prevalence of abnormal anal cytology in cases of high-grade cervical squamous lesions (cervical HSIL). These results help to support the hypothesis that the anal mucosa is a reservoir of HPV, which can be a source of re-infection for the cervix. However, there was no significant association between the practice of anal sex and the prevalence of anal cytological abnormalities. These facts are epidemiologically important for future programs for population eradication of cervical lesions related to HPV. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2011;39:323-327. (C) 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.