Comparative analysis of the results of testing cervical epithelial samples and cervical biopsy specimens for HPV

Currently, testing for human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA is more and more often used as a primary diagnosis method when conducting screening for cervical cancer. However, HPV genotypes reported when assessing cervical smears can differ from the results of testing cervical biopsy specimens. The study aimed to assess the features of detecting HPV DNA in the paired cervical canal epithelium samples and cervical biopsy specimens. HPV-positive patients (n = 99) underwent targeted cervical biopsy. The HPV DNA was detected 175 times in biomaterial obtained from the cervical canal and 111 times in histologic blocks. In the group of patients with chronic cervicitis, the rate of HPV DNA testing results match was 28.3%, in the group with LSIL it was 45%, and in the group with HSIL it was 67.7%. When the HPV viral load was low, the results were matched in 27.1% of cases, when the viral load was moderate in 35.4%, and when the viral load was high these were matched in 82.3% of cases. We revealed a relatively strong correlation between the viral load and the probability of the HPV test results match: the percentage of HPV DNA test results match between paired samples increases by 9.3% with the increase in the HPV viral load by 1 lg.