Significance of HPV-58 Infection in Women Who Are HPV-Positive, Cytology-Negative and Living in a Country with a High Prevalence of HPV-58 Infection

Purpose: Cervical cytology and human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA co-testing is recommended as a screening method for detecting cervical lesions. However, for women who are HPV-positive but cytology-negative, the appropriate management and significance of HPV-58 infection remain unknown. Methods: This study of prevalent HPV detected at baseline with a median follow-up of 3.2 years evaluated the risk factors associated with cervical abnormalities and assessed the significance of HPV-58 infection. A total of 265 women were enrolled. All high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) that were detected by cytology were confirmed by histology. Histological diagnoses of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 2/3 were classified as HSIL. Women were classified into four groups according to the HPV genotype that was detected at their first visit: HPV-58 (n = 27), HPV-16 (n = 52; 3 women had HPV-58 co-infection), ten other high risk (HR) types (n = 79), or low/undetermined risk types (n = 107). Results: Of 265 women, 20 (7.5%) had HSIL on their follow-up examinations. There were significant differences in the cumulative incidence of HSIL between the four groups (p,0.001). The 5-year cumulative incidence rates of HSIL were 34.0