Added value of electrical impedance spectroscopy in adjunction of colposcopy: a prospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess whether electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) as an adjunctive technology enhances the performance of colposcopy. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: University Hospital colposcopy clinic. PARTICIPANTS: Colposcopy with EIS for 647 women and conventional colposcopy for 962 women. INTERVENTIONS: Comparison of the performance of colposcopy by referral cervical cytology in two cohorts, with and without EIS as an adjunctive technology. OUTCOME MEASURES: Prevalence of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 or worse (CIN2+), diagnostic testing accuracy to detect CIN2+ with and without EIS and their relative differences between cohorts. RESULTS: The prevalence of CIN2+ varied between the cohorts according to referral cytology: 17.0% after abnormal squamous cells of unknown significance referral cytology in EIS cohort and 9.1% in the reference cohort, 16.5% and 18.9% after low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL), 44.3% and 58.2% after atypical squamous cells, cannot exclude high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL) (atypical squamous cells that cannot exclude HSIL), and 81.9% and 77.0% after HSIL cytology, respectively. Sensitivity to detect CIN2+ was higher in the EIS cohort, varying from 1.79 (95% CI 1.30 to 2.45) after LSIL referral cytology to 1.16 (95% CI 1.09 to 1.23) after HSIL referral cytology, with correspondingly lower specificity after any referral cytology. CONCLUSIONS: Colposcopy with EIS had overall higher sensitivity but lower specificity to detect CIN2+ than conventional colposcopy. CIN2+ prevalence rates were, however, not consistently higher in the EIS cohort, suggesting innate differences between the cohorts or truly lower detection rates of CIN2+ for EIS, highlighting the need for randomised controlled trials on the effectiveness of EIS.

Distribution of HPV Genotypes Differs Depending on Behavioural Factors among Young Women.

Risk factors for the different human papillomavirus (HPV) genotypes are not well understood, although the risk of cancer is known to vary among them. Our aim was to evaluate the association of diverse behavioral and reproductive factors with genotype-specific HPV prevalence among 879 unvaccinated women aged 18-75 years referred to the colposcopy clinic at Helsinki University Hospital in Finland. Cervical swabs for HPV genotyping were collected in the first visit and assessed for 34 high-risk (hr) and low-risk (lr) HPV genotypes. Participants completed a questionnaire on behavioral, reproductive, and lifestyle factors. Differences in genotype-specific HPV prevalence were analyzed overall and in age groups using binary logistic regression. Smoking was associated with higher prevalence in HPV16 compared with other hrHPV genotypes together with decreasing age, being highest among younger women <30 years old, odds ratio (OR) 3.74 (95% CI 1.42-9.88). The later the sexual debut, the more it seemed to protect from HPV16 infection. The best protection was achieved when the sexual debut took place at >20 years of age, with an OR of 0.43 (95% CI 0.23-0.83). This association was not seen with other hrHPV genotypes. Methods of contraception seemed not to have an effect on hrHPV positivity, regardless of the HPV genotype. The genotype specific hrHPV prevalence differs, depending on behavioral factors, especially among younger women referred to colposcopy.