Aim: The authors study the trend of cytologic human papillomavirus (HPV) detection in the period between 1980 and 2000 in women attending a clinic for genital cancer early detection.
Methods: Routine activity, besides pap smear, is based on clinical evaluation, colposcopy and target biopsy in the presence of a lesion. The cytological trend is compared with that of histologic and clinical findings of HPV lesions on the basis of data prospectively collected.
Results: About 5% of cytologic HPV detection is observed in the whole, with a pick of about 11% in the years 1992-1994, and values around 2-3% up to 1991 and after 1995. The finding does not change if the whole pap smear group is considered (46,862) or only the first pap smear per woman (16,810). A similar trend, but with a smaller pick, is observed in histologic findings, not in colposcopic findings. The clinical finding of condylomata is higher in the first period of observation, sloping down through the time intervals considered. Standardization on age or patient's recruiting does not change the evidence.
Conclusion: The trend of the HPV parameters studied could represent an epidemiological model for HPV infection. The clinical epidemics is followed by a period of HPV cytological pick, which might be followed, at suitable time interval, by more cervical intraepithelial neoplasia/squamous intraepithelial lesions, according to the well known latency between infection and premalignant changes.