Persistent Genital Human Papillomavirus Infection as a Risk Factor for Persistent

squamous intraepithelial lesion (SIL) in cytology or cervical intraepithelial neoplasia in histopathology, is thought to have the potential to advance in progressive stages to cervi-cal cancer. However, not all cases of SIL progress, and most of the mild lesions spontaneously regress. Factors that govern regression, persistence, and progression of SIL are poorly understood. Purpose: Our analysis sought to identify factors that determined persistence or regression of SIL. Methods: Seventy subjects with histopathologically con-firmed cervical dysplasia were followed at 3-month intervals for 15 months. At each visit, the cervix was evaluated by Pap smear and colposcopy, and exfoliated cervicovaginal cells were analyzed for human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA. For each subject, data from every two consecutive visits were grouped as a pair. Persistent SIL was considered present if