Age and HPV type as risk factors for HPV persistence after loop excision in patients with high grade cervical lesions: an observational study.

BACKGROUND: Persistent infections with high risk human papillomaviruses (HR-HPV) cause virtually all cervical cancers.

METHODS: An observational study was conducted aiming to estimate the rate of HPV infection persistence after LEEP in patients with high grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL). Moreover, the study investigated if persistence is age related. For this reason a total of 110 patients were included between January 2010 and June 2015.

RESULTS: At 6 months after LEEP the overall HPV infection persistence rate was 40.9 %, at 12 months 20 % and at 18 months 11.8 %. Type 16 showed the highest persistence rate: 27.3 % at 6 months, 12.7 % at 12 months and 10 % at 18 months after LEEP. The persistence for HPV type 16 at 6 months after LEEP was significantly higher in the group > =36.5 years old compared to the persistence rate in the group <36.5 years old (p = 0.0027, RR = 2.75, 95 %ϵ(1.34; 5.64)) (see Table 3).

CONCLUSIONS: LEEP does not completely eradicate HPV infection. HPV persistence rate after LEEP is higher in infections with type 16 and in women older than 36.5 years.