Prevalence of human papillomavirus infection and correlation with cervical lesions in Japanese women

Purpose: To investigate the prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in patients attending a gynecologic outpatient department, and to correlate the infection status with the presence or absence of uterine cervical lesions and the grades assessed by cytological or histological examinations. Methods: Five hundred and seventy-two subjects were studied. In all subjects, HPV detection by the hybrid capture method and a cervical cytological examination were performed Results: The HPV-positive rate in subjects with normal cytology was 12.3%. The detection rate was high (21.7%) in subjects aged in the twenties and low in the forties, and HPV was not detected in subjects aged in the sixties and seventies. When HPV-positive rates were examined according to cytological or histological grades, the rates were higher in subjects with abnormal cytology (P < 0.01) or cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) or squamous cell carcinoma compared with those with normal cytology. Conclusion: Diagnosis of HPV infection is also important for the prediction of progression to CIN and cervical cancer.