ABSTRACT
To assess the utility of a commercial PCR based HPV test for evaluating patients before colposcopy and colposcopic biopsy sampling in a Turkish hospital and to compare its efficacy with histology in preventing unnecessary colposcopic biopsy sampling. Case control study. Akdeniz University, Faculty of Medicine, Antalya, Turkey. One hundred and seventy-four women with abnormal Pap smear results [40 with high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions [HSIL] and 134 with low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions [LSIL] and 34 women with normal cytologic test results were included. Papanicolaou stainings and high risk HPV DNA [HR-HPV DNA] detections were done for all endocervical scrape specimens. Colposcopic evaluation and endocervical sampling were done for 52 patients. Papanicolaou stainings, HR-HPV DNA detections and histologic examination from endocervical samplings were evaluated. Human beta-globin was not detected in 40 samples. All of the 13 samples from patients with HR-HPV DNA positivity and HSIL were diagnosed as CIN2+ lesions [100%], whereas 23.2% [4/17] of patients with HR-HPV DNA negativity and HSIL were found to have CIN2+ lesions. HR-HPV DNA test, which also amplifies a genomic fragment as an internal control, seems to be a good screening tool. Besides the benefit of an early diagnosis of cervical cancer, HR-HPV DNA assay may also lead to a marked decrease in unnecessary invasive cervical samplings