HIV status may affect the progression of HPV infection to cervical pre-cancer
In order to increase understanding of the way HPV infection progresses, and to compare its progression in HIV-negative and HIV-positive women, Whitham and colleagues analyzed data from six studies conducted from 1994 to 2010 in Senegal, where HIV is endemic. They followed 1,320 women for an average of two years, testing them for HPV and cervical abnormalities approximately every four months. At each clinic visit, women were characterized as normal, HPV-positive, or HSIL (HPV-positive with high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions, a precancerous lesion that may progress to cervical cancer if untreated). The study showed that HIV-positive women had higher rates of acquiring HPV, and lower rates of clearing HPV infection, than HIV-negative women. Women whose immune systems were compromised by HIV were also more likely to have HPV infection progress to pre-cancer, the study indicated. For instance, HIV-positive women were 2.55 times more likely to have their HPV infection progres...