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

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Abstract
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.