Significance of High-Risk Human Papillomavirus Testing for Atypical Glandular Cells on Cervical Cytology.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic significance of high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) testing for managing women with atypical glandular cells (AGC) and to explore the distribution of hrHPV genotypes.

METHODS: We analyzed cytologic and histopathologic diagnoses in patients referred to our institution due to AGC or atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASC-US). All patients underwent hrHPV testing and genotyping, and positive (PPV) and negative predictive values (NPV) for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) 2 or worse [CIN2+/adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS)+] were calculated.

RESULTS: Among 41 cases previously diagnosed with AGC, 22 (53%) were classified as CIN2+ (2 squamous cell carcinomas), whereas only 2 were AIS or adenocarcinoma. Twenty-seven (65.8%) cases in the AGC group were hrHPV positive. The most frequent genotypes in both the ASC-US and AGC groups were HPV16 and HPV52. The PPV of hrHPV testing for CIN2+/AIS+ was significantly higher in the AGC than in the ASC-US group (74.1 vs. 35.0%; p = 0.0005). The NPV for CIN2+/AIS+ was significantly lower in the AGC than in the ASC-US group (74.4 vs. 100%; p = 0.0441).

CONCLUSION: In patients with AGC, both glandular and squamous lesions must be monitored. hrHPV testing is useful for detecting CIN2+/AIS+ in AGC.