Screening test results associated with cancer diagnoses in 287 women with cervical squamous cell carcinoma

Prior cervical cytology and high-risk HPV testing results for 311 patients with invasive cervical adenocarcinoma: a multicenter retrospective study from China's largest independent operator of pathology laboratories

Background

High-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) testing is more sensitive than cytology for the detection of cervical cancer and its precursors. However, limited and inconsistent data are available about the efficacy of the combination of these two methods for screening cervical adenocarcinoma. This multicenter retrospective study investigated the screening results of a cohort of Chinese patients who were subsequently diagnosed with invasive cervical adenocarcinoma, with the goal of identifying the optimal cervical adenocarcinoma screening method.

Methods

We retrospectively retrieved and analyzed the data from patients with histologically confirmed primary invasive cervical adenocarcinoma from eight local pathology laboratories operated by KingMed Diagnostics, the largest independent operator of pathology laboratories in China, over a 2-year period. Only patients who underwent cytology and/or HR-HPV testing within 6 months before the adenocarcinoma diagnosis were included. HR-HPV DNA was detected using one of two HPV test kits: the Hybrid Capture 2 (HC2) assay (Qiagen, Hilden, Germany) and an HPV genotyping panel (Yaneng Bio, Shenzhen, China).

Results

Of the 311 patients, 136 underwent cytology alone, 106 underwent HR-HPV testing alone, and 69 underwent cytology and HR-HPV co-testing. The sensitivities of cytology alone (64.0, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 55.9–72.0) and HR-HPV testing alone (66.0, 95% CI: 57.0–75.1) were similar (P = 0.738). The sensitivity of cytology and HR-HPV co-testing (87.0, 95% CI: 79.0–94.9) was significantly higher than that of either cytology (P = 0.001) or HR-HPV testing alone (P = 0.002).

Conclusions

Both cytology alone and HR-HPV testing alone showed poor screening efficiency, whereas the combination of the two clearly increased the efficiency of primary cervical adenocarcinoma screening. Thus, cytology and HR-HPV co-testing might be the most efficient cervical adenocarcinoma screening method.

HPV-ISH-Negative Invasive Cervical Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Histologic and Pap Test Results

INTRODUCTION

A causal link between infection with a high-risk strain of human papilloma virus (hrHPV) and the development of cervical squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is well established. However, a small number of SCCs are hrHPV-negative by either HPV co-DNA testing and/or HPV-in situ hybridization (HPV-ISH) at the time of diagnosis. These apparently hrHPV-negative lesions are poorly understood, specifically whether hrHPV-positive precursor lesions exist, which would be detected through hrHPV-based screening.

METHODS

A search of the pathology archives at the Johns Hopkins Hospital identified women with a diagnosis of hrHPV-negative cervical SCC on surgical specimen. All prior pathologies, including cervical cytology and surgical pathology specimens, and associated hrHPV DNA test results, p16 immunohistochemistry, and HPV-ISH were reviewed.

RESULTS

A total of 25 women were identified having a surgical specimen diagnosed as SCC with either negative or equivocal HPV-ISH. Fifteen had a Pap test in the 6 months preceding a diagnosis of SCC, with cytology diagnoses as follows: high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion n = 14/15; atypical squamous cells, cannot exclude high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion n = 1/15. hrHPV co-testing was performed for 5 of these 15 women and was negative in 2/5 cases. Cervical biopsy was performed for 24 women. HPV-ISH testing, performed on 14 of the biopsy specimens, was negative for 11/14 patients. Of 15 specimens stained for p16, 14 were positive.

CONCLUSION

A subset of patients exist in whom hrHPV is not detectable at or near the time of progression to SCC. Additional research is necessary to further describe this population and determine whether maintaining cytological screening would provide benefit.

Previous Papanicolaou and Hybrid Capture 2 human papillomavirus testing results of 5699 women with histologically diagnosed cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 2/3

INTRODUCTION

Cervical cancer remains an important public health problem in Chinese women owing to the lack of a national screening program. The aim of the present study was to evaluate human papillomavirus (HPV) and Papanicolaou (Pap) test results preceding the histologic diagnosis of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 2/3 (CIN2/3) in China's largest College of American Pathologists-certified clinical laboratory.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

All cases of CIN2/3 histologically diagnosed from January 2011 to August 2016 were retrieved from the pathology department records. The Pap cytology and HPV test results from the 6 months before the CIN2/3 diagnoses were analyzed.

RESULTS

A total of 5699 patients with histologically diagnosed CIN2/3 had previous Pap and/or HPV Hybrid Capture 2 testing results within the previous 6 months. The average age was 39.5 years (range, 16-82 years). Of these patients, 4288 had Pap test findings (average, 1.5 months) available. The results were high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion in 44.1%, low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion in 20.0%, atypical squamous cells, cannot exclude high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion, in 16.0%, atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance, in 12.3%, atypical glandular cells in 0.7%, and negative in 6.9%. Of the 5699 patients, 2546 had HPV Hybrid Capture 2 test results (average, 1.4 months) available. Of these, 91.7% had positive results and 8.3% had negative results. Of 1135 patients with both previous Pap and HPV results, 7.1% had negative HPV results and 8.0% had negative Pap results (P = 0.38). Only 21 patients (1.9%) had double negative results.

CONCLUSIONS

The present study has reported the previous results of HPV testing and Pap cytology for patients with high-grade cervical squamous precursor lesions in a population of women in China who had not undergone intensive previous screening. Both high-risk HPV and Pap cytology had similar negative testing rates for these women, although double negative results were less common. These results support the value of combined testing in the detection of cervical cancer precursors.

Previous cervical cytology and high-risk human papillomavirus testing in a cohort of patients with invasive cervical carcinoma in Shandong Province, China

BACKGROUND

Currently, available data regarding previous cervical cytology and high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) test results to detect invasive cervical cancer are limited and controversial in China. Therefore, this retrospective study in a population of Chinese women with invasive cervical carcinoma aimed to gain further insight into the roles of cytology and hrHPV testing in cervical cancer screening.

METHODS

A total of 1214 cases with a histological diagnosis of invasive cervical cancer were retrieved from the Pathology Database of Jinan KingMed Diagnostics (JKD) over a 5-year period. Previous cytology and hrHPV test results of 469 patients carried out within the year before cancer diagnosis were documented.

RESULTS

A higher percentage of patients who had undergone prior screening had micro-invasive cervical carcinoma than patients who had no prior screening (25.4% vs. 12.1%, P < 0.001). Of the 469 patients with available prior screening results, 170 had cytology alone, 161 had hrHPV testing alone, and 138 had both cytology and hrHPV testing. There was a significantly lower percentage of hrHPV-positive cases with adenocarcinoma than with squamous cell carcinoma (77.8% vs. 96.4%, P = 0.001). The hrHPV test showed a significantly higher sensitivity than cytology alone (94.4% vs. 85.3%, P = 0.006). The overall sensitivity of the combination of cytology and hrHPV testing (98.6%) was much higher than that of cytology alone (P < 0.001) but only marginally higher than that of hrHPV testing alone (P = 0.058).

CONCLUSIONS

The results revealed that prior cervical screening can detect a significantly larger number of micro-invasive cervical cancers. The hrHPV test can provide a more sensitive and efficient strategy than cytology alone. As the addition of cytology to hrHPV testing can only marginally increase the efficiency of the hrHPV test, hrHPV testing should be used as the primary screening approach, especially in the low-resource settings of China.

Polymerase Chain Reaction Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Detection and HPV Genotyping in Invasive Cervical Cancers With Prior Negative HC2 Test Results

OBJECTIVES

Recently, three large Chinese cohort studies showed that 7.5% to 15.5% of patients with cervical carcinoma had negative high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) test results on prior cytology specimens. These studies raise the question as to whether these negative hrHPV results represent truly hrHPV-negative carcinomas or false-negative hrHPV test results due to limitations in the testing of cytology specimens. This is increasingly an important question with increasing push to use hrHPV testing alone to screen for cervical cancer.

METHODS

We investigated the hrHPV status on the surgical specimens from these same patients with cervical carcinoma using three polymerase chain reaction methods and a linear assay genotyping method.

RESULTS

A variety of HPV genotypes were detected in 28 (45.9%) of 61 cases, all belonging to carcinogenic or possibly carcinogenic categories. HPV 16 was the most common genotype detected in positive cases (66.7%). HPV was detected in 25 (50%) of 50 squamous cell carcinomas and two (66.7%) of three adenosquamous carcinomas and only one (12.5%) of eight endocervical adenocarcinomas.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings demonstrate that negative hrHPV testing on cervicovaginal cytology specimens in women later diagnosed with cervical carcinoma can be explained by the occurrence of truly HPV-negative carcinomas in more than half of patients. These results should be considered in the development of future cervical cancer screening guidelines.

Human Papillomavirus Laboratory Testing: the Changing Paradigm

High-risk human papillomaviruses (HPVs) cause essentially all cervical cancers, most anal and oropharyngeal cancers, and some vaginal, vulvar, and penile cancers. Improved understanding of the pathogenesis of infection and the availability of newer tests are changing the approach to screening and diagnosis. Molecular tests to detect DNA from the most common high-risk HPVs are FDA approved for use in conjunction with cytology in cervical cancer screening programs. More-specific tests that detect RNA from high-risk HPV types are now also available. The use of molecular tests as the primary screening tests is being adopted in some areas. Genotyping to identify HPV16 and -18 has a recommended role in triaging patients for colposcopy who are high-risk HPV positive but have normal cytology. There are currently no recommended screening methods for anal, vulvar, vaginal, penile, or oropharyngeal HPV infections. HPV testing has limited utility in patients at high risk for anal cancer, but p16 immunohistochemistry is recommended to clarify lesions in tissue biopsy specimens that show moderate dysplasia or precancer mimics. HPV testing is recommended for oropharyngeal squamous cell tumors as a prognostic indicator. Ongoing research will help to improve the content of future guidelines for screening and diagnostic testing.

Squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix: a cytology-histology-human papillomavirus correlation in clinical practice

CONTEXT

Cervical cancer mortality has declined by 74% in the United States since the implementation of the Papanicolaou (Pap) test. Nevertheless, more than 12,000 US women annually develop cervical cancer, and squamous cell carcinoma (SqCa) remains the predominant cervical malignancy.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate screening techniques used in the detection of SqCa of the cervix and provide insights regarding which technique(s) is (are) most efficacious in our study population.

DESIGN

We retrospectively reviewed all available cytologic, human papillomavirus (HPV), and histologic malignancy burden data from patients diagnosed with SqCa. The clinical data were collected from 2 geographically and socioeconomically diverse hospital systems. Cases in which identified patients had a Pap test with a negative result/unsatisfactory specimen within 5 years of SqCa tissue diagnosis were considered Pap test screening failures. Cases in which patients were diagnosed with HPV-negative SqCa were considered HPV screening failures.

RESULTS

Eighty-eight cases (patients' ages ranging from 19 to 73 years) were identified. Of those, cytologic history was available for 64 cases present in our electronic medical history record. Three cases were cytology screening failures (one being an unsatisfactory specimen) and 3 cases were HPV screening failures (one being the cytologic unsatisfactory case). Although measuring sensitivity in practice has limitations, we calculated the SqCa detection sensitivity at 95.3% by Pap test alone and 97% when HPV DNA testing was incorporated.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results highlight the necessity of combining Pap and HPV testing. Although the number of cases identified is relatively small, our data suggest detection failures will decrease as the practice of combining HPV and Pap testing increases.

Automated in situ hybridization for human papilloma virus

With the increased number of requests for high-risk human papilloma virus in situ hybridization (HPV ISH), not only for uterine cervical squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) but also for biopsies and resections of oropharyngeal SCC, and fine needle aspiration cell blocks of metastatic SCC in cervical lymph nodes, we optimized an automated method to replace the manual one we had used. The new technique used the Leica BOND-maX or III immunostainer, already in use for immunohistochemical analysis, with the Enzo HPV type 16/18 and 6/11 probes. We stained 55 surgical biopsies and 41 cell blocks of oropharyngeal SCC. Sensitivity was 90% and 73% for biopsies and cell blocks, respectively, with a specificity of 100% in both. Stain is strong and crisp with no background. Turnaround time is short as runs are performed daily, with up to 30 slides per run. Technologists become trained in a few days, and the repeat rate is low. The only disadvantage is that ISH and IHC cannot be performed simultaneously. We highly recommend this automated technique for high-risk and low-risk HPV ISH and probably with other probes.

Prior high-risk HPV testing and Pap test results for 427 invasive cervical cancers in China's largest CAP-certified laboratory

BACKGROUND

Cervical cancer and its precursor lesions are caused by a persistent high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) infection. hrHPV testing has been reported to have higher sensitivity than Papanicolaou (Pap) testing for the detection of cervical precursor lesions. However, limited data are available for prior human papillomavirus (HPV) testing results for patients later diagnosed with invasive cervical cancer, especially in countries lacking a national cervical cancer screening program such as China. This study investigated prior hrHPV testing results for patients with invasive cervical cancer in China.

METHODS

Cases with a histologic diagnosis of invasive cervical carcinoma were retrieved from Guangzhou KingMed Diagnostics (the largest independent pathology laboratory in China); prior hrHPV and Pap test results obtained within the year before the cancer diagnosis were recorded.

RESULTS

HPV testing was negative in 7.5% of 427 cases of invasive cervical carcinoma, including squamous cell carcinoma (5%) and adenocarcinoma (25%). In 155 cervical cancer cases with prior hrHPV and Pap testing, the negative rate for Pap testing was 1.9%, and the negative rate for HPV was 9.7%. Furthermore, when only cases of adenocarcinoma (n = 18) were examined, both the hrHPV-negative rate and the Pap-negative rate were higher at 33% and 5.6%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

These data demonstrate a considerable prior hrHPV-negative rate and a lower prior Pap-negative rate in patients with invasive cervical carcinoma (especially adenocarcinoma) from a population of women without access to an established screening program.

Glandular Lesions of the Cervix in Clinical Practice: A Cytology, Histology, and Human Papillomavirus Correlation Study From 2 Institutions

Context

The Papanicolaou (Pap) test has indisputably decreased cervical cancer mortality, as rates have declined by up to 80% in the United States since its implementation. However, the Pap test is considered less sensitive for detecting glandular lesions than for detecting those of squamous origin. Some studies have even suggested an increasing incidence of cervical adenocarcinoma, which may be a consequence of a relatively reduced ability to detect glandular lesions with cervical cancer screening techniques.

Objective

To evaluate the detection rate of glandular lesions with screening techniques currently used for cervical cancer screening and to provide insight as to which techniques are most efficacious in our study population.

Design

We retrospectively reviewed any available cytology, human papillomavirus (HPV), and histologic malignancy data in patients diagnosed with adenocarcinoma in situ and adenocarcinoma from 2 geographically and socioeconomically disparate hospital systems. Identified patients having had a negative/unsatisfactory Pap test within 5 years of adenocarcinoma in situ or adenocarcinoma tissue diagnosis were considered Pap test screening failures. Patients with negative HPV tests on cytology samples were considered HPV screening failures.

Results

One hundred thirty cases were identified (age range, 22–93 years); 39 (30%) had no Pap history in our files. Eight of 91 remaining cases (8.8%) were screening failures. The detected sensitivity for identifying adenocarcinoma in situ/adenocarcinoma in this study was 91.2% by cytology alone and 92.3% when incorporating HPV testing. The most common cytologic diagnosis was atypical glandular cells (25 cases), and those diagnosed with adenocarcinoma were 7.4 years older than those diagnosed with adenocarcinoma in situ (50.3 versus 42.9 years). Nine of 24 HPV-tested cases (37.5%) were called atypical squamous cell of undetermined significance on cytology.

Conclusions

Our results highlight the importance of combined Pap and HPV cotesting. Although the number of cases identified is relatively small, our data suggest screening for squamous lesions facilitates the recognition of glandular lesions in the cervix. Additionally, increased use of combined Pap and HPV cotesting may decrease detection failure rates with regard to glandular lesions.

Comparison of cervical cancer screening results among 256,648 women in multiple clinical practices

BACKGROUND

In the United States, human papillomavirus (HPV) and Papanicolaou (Pap) testing (cotesting) for cervical screening in women ages 30 to 65 years is the preferred strategy, and cytology alone is acceptable. Recently, a proprietary automated test for identifying high-risk HPV types for primary cervical screening was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. The objective of the current study was to document extensive cervical screening among these screening options.

METHODS

To investigate the sensitivity of various testing options for biopsy-proven cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 3 or worse (≥CIN3) and cancer, the authors reviewed 256,648 deidentified results from women ages 30 to 65 years at the time of cotest who had a cervical biopsy specimen obtained within 1 year of the cotest.

RESULTS

A positive cotest result was more sensitive (98.8%; 4040 of 4090 cotests) for diagnosing ≥CIN3 than either a positive HPV-only test (94%; 3845 of 4090 HPV-only tests) or a positive Pap-only test (91.3%; 3734 of 4090 Pap-only tests; P <. 0001). A positive Pap-only result was more specific (26.3%; 66,145 of 251,715 Pap-only tests) for diagnosing ≥CIN3 than a positive HPV-only test (25.6%; 64,625 of 252,556 HPV-only tests) or a positive cotest (10.9%; 27,578 of 252,558 cotests; P <. 0001). Of 526 cervical cancers, 98 (18.6%) were HPV-only negative, 64 (12.2%) were Pap-only negative, and 29 (5.5%) were cotest negative.

CONCLUSIONS

Compared with HPV-only testing, cotesting was more sensitive for the detection of ≥CIN3 in women ages 30 to 65 years. The current data suggest that approximately 19% of women with cervical cancer may be misdiagnosed by an HPV-only cervical screen. It is important to consider these data as the guidelines for cervical cancer screening undergo revision. Cancer (Cancer Cytopathol) 2015;123:282–8. © 2015 The Authors. Cancer Cytopathology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Cancer Society. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.

Follow-up outcomes in a large cohort of patients with HPV-negative LSIL cervical screening test results

OBJECTIVES

Cervical screening guidelines now recommend repeat cotesting of patients aged 30 years and older having a human papillomavirus (HPV)-negative low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL) in 1 year as preferred management. Only limited follow-up data on patients with HPV-negative LSILs are available from routine US clinical practice settings.

METHODS

In total, 680 patients with Hybrid Capture 2 (Qiagen, Hinden, Germany) high-risk HPV-negative LSIL ThinPrep (Hologic, Marlborough, MA) results were identified. Patients' ages and histopathologic, cytologic, and HPV follow-up results were identified.

RESULTS

Among 680 patients with HPV-negative LSILs, 468 had follow-up within 1 year. During the study period, 14 (3.0%) of 468 had follow-up high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL) and 184 (39.3%) LSIL findings. No diagnoses of cervical carcinoma were documented. There were no significant follow-up differences between age groups. Of the 321 patients who had follow-up HPV testing, 271 (84.4%) had negative and 50 (15.6%) had positive HPV results.

CONCLUSIONS

This is the largest study documenting follow-up results for patients with HPV-negative LSIL results based on prevalent US FDA-approved co-testing methods from one collection vial. These data document that risk for follow-up HSILs in these patients is low and also that no cervical cancers were diagnosed. These findings support recent recommendations for repeat co-testing after 1 year as an appropriate option for patients with HPV-negative LSIL results.

HPV-negative carcinoma of the uterine cervix: a distinct type of cervical cancer with poor prognosis

OBJECTIVE

Using highly sensitive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques, we reanalysed all cervical carcinomas (CCs) found to be human papillomavirus (HPV)-negative by Hybrid Capture 2 (HC2) to determine the prevalence of true HPV-negativity. We also evaluated the characteristics of the patients with tumours with confirmed HPV-negativity.

DESIGN

Observational study.

SETTING

Barcelona, Spain.

POPULATION

A cohort of 136 women with CC (32 adenocarcinomas, 104 squamous cell carcinomas) who had pre-treatment HC2 testing.

METHODS

All negative cases were reanalysed and genotyped for HPV using three PCR assays (SPF10, GP5+/6+ and E7-specific assay).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Percentage of confirmed HPV-negative and HPV-positive tumours. Clinicopathological features and disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) of both groups.

RESULTS

Fourteen of 136 women (10.2%) were negative for HPV by HC2. After reanalysis by PCR-based techniques only 8/136 (5.8%) tumours were confirmed as HPV-negative, whereas in six cases different HPVs were identified [HPV-11, -16 (two tumours), -18, -45, and -68]. Confirmed HPV-negativity was more frequent in adenocarcinomas than in squamous cell carcinomas (5/32, 15.6% versus 3/104, 2.9%, respectively; P = 0.017). Patients with CCs with confirmed HPV-negativity had significantly worse DFS than women with HPV-positive tumours [51.9 months (95% CI 12.2-91.7 months) versus 109.9 months (95% CI 98.2-121.5 months); P = 0.010]. In the multivariate analysis HPV-negativity and International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) staging were associated with increased risk of progression and mortality.

CONCLUSIONS

An HC2-negative result is an uncommon finding in women with CC, but in almost half of these cases HPVs are identified by more sensitive techniques. CCs with confirmed HPV-negativity are more frequently adenocarcinomas, and seem to be associated with worse DFS.

Low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion/cannot exclude high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL-H) is a unique category of cytologic abnormality associated with distinctive HPV and histopathologic CIN 2+ detection rates

OBJECTIVES

To examine data correlating high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) results in patients with both low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL) and atypical squamous cells cannot exclude high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (ASC-H) cytology findings (LSIL-H) with follow-up histopathology.

METHODS

A total of 494 LSIL-H ThinPrep (Hologic, Marlborough, MA) cases with hrHPV testing were identified. Histopathologic follow-up was available in 347 patients.

RESULTS

Among 347 patients with follow-up histopathology after LSIL-H cytology and hrHPV testing, 90.5% tested hrHPV positive. Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) 2/3 was diagnosed in 29.4% and CIN 1 in 53.6%. CIN 2/3 was diagnosed in significantly more patients with hrHPV-positive LSIL-H than following hrHPV-negative LSIL-H results. Compared with published institutional data, LSIL-H had significantly lower hrHPV and histopathologic CIN 2/3+ rates (90.5% and 29.4%, with no cervical cancers) than high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL) (95.7% and 70.5%, with 2.4% cervical cancers) but higher rates than LSIL (80.2% and 12.9%) or atypical squamous cells/cannot exclude HSIL (ASC-H) (54.3% and 17.2%). Whereas CIN 2/3 detection rates were similar in HPV-positive LSIL-H and HPV-positive ASC-H, CIN 2/3 findings were more likely with HPV-negative LSIL-H than with HPV-negative ASC-H.

CONCLUSIONS

LSIL-H is a unique category of cytologic abnormality associated with distinctive hrHPV and CIN 2/3+ diagnostic rates.

A retrospective analysis of the clinical performance of human papillomavirus testing using SurePath sample collection

INTRODUCTION

We present a retrospective analysis of our high-risk human papillomavirus (hr-HPV) test performance using SurePath samples, and we compare these results to published results from Kaiser Permanente of Northern California, where hr-HPV testing was performed using collection in standard transport medium.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

We retrospectively identified histopathologic cases of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) 2+ from 2010 through 2012, as well as all hr-HPV results performed from SurePath samples in these women. Testing for hr-HPV in our laboratory consisted of either Hybrid-Capture 2 or Cervista. These results were used to calculate false negative rates for CIN 2+, CIN 3+, and carcinoma, for both test methods, and these rates are compared with those published by Kaiser Permanente of Northern California.

RESULTS

The false negative rate for hr-HPV testing from SurePath samples (combined Hybrid-Capture 2 and Cervista) at the histopathologic level of CIN2+ was 7.9% (95% confidence interval: 5.9-10.2). This is compared with the false negative rates from collection in standard transport medium reported by Kaiser Permanente of Northern California for CIN 2+ of 20.4% (95% confidence interval: 18.9-22.0). Similar calculations for CIN 3+ and carcinoma are presented, along with comparison to the Kaiser Permanente of Northern California results. With regard to false negative hr-HPV results, for all levels of histopathologic abnormality, our hr-HPV testing from SurePath samples showed either significantly better performance (for CIN 2+ regardless of method, CIN 3+ using Cervista), or equivalent performance (for CIN 3+ using Hybrid-Capture 2 and carcinoma regardless of method).

CONCLUSIONS

Our retrospective analysis demonstrates that hr-HPV testing from SurePath samples meets the proposed sensitivity of ≥90% in cases of biopsy proven CIN 2+.

Cervical screening test results associated with 265 histopathologic diagnoses of cervical glandular neoplasia

OBJECTIVES

To document screening test histories of women with histopathologic cervical glandular neoplasia (CGN) in a large integrated health system using new methods of cervical screening.

METHODS

Cervical screening test results were reviewed for 265 patients with histopathologic diagnoses of CGN, including 168 adenocarcinoma in situ, 80 invasive cervical adenocarcinoma, and 17 invasive cervical adenosquamous carcinoma cases.

RESULTS

Among 222 cases with known triggers of diagnostic studies, 211 (95%) had recent abnormal Papanicolaou (Pap) test results. Glandular cell abnormalities were the most common recent abnormal Pap test finding in 130 (61.6%) of 211; squamous cell abnormalities alone were documented in 81 (38.4%) of 211, reflecting coexisting cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) in 60% of CGN cases. Among 114 CGN cases with additional Pap tests more than 4 months to 3 years before CGN diagnosis, 70 (61.4%) had only earlier negative Pap test results. Among 72 CGN cases with recent human papillomavirus (HPV) test results, 70 (97.2%) tested HPV positive. Among 29 CGN cases with HPV test results more than 4 months to 3 years before CGN diagnosis, 25 (86.2%) tested HPV positive.

CONCLUSIONS

Conservative cytologic screening practices and HPV cotesting can facilitate early diagnoses of CGN.

Follow-up outcomes of a large cohort of low-risk women with negative imaged liquid-based cytology and negative HPV test results

Recently updated cervical screening guidelines have proposed a 5-year screening interval for women aged 30 years and older with "double-negative" Papanicolaou (Pap) and high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) results (DNR); however, published US follow-up data on women with DNR tested with US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) - approved HPV testing are limited to studies from Kaiser Permanente using conventional Pap smear cytology. Between July 2005 and June 2006, 4,112 patients with DNR who were screened with computer-imaged liquid-based cytology (LBC) (ThinPrep) and Hybrid Capture 2 (HC2) hrHPV tests of LBC vial fluid were identified. Cytologic or histopathologic data were available for 3,211 patients who were followed up for a mean 44 months. Among 2,960 patients aged 30 years and older with DNR, follow-up cervical abnormalities of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) 3 or more severe (CIN3+) were documented in 5 (0.17%), including 1 endocervical adenocarcinoma. After DNR, CIN+ diagnoses were significantly more likely in women younger than 50 years than in older women. These data are consistent with previously published US and international studies that have consistently documented low rates of histopathologic CIN3+ during years of follow-up after DNR. Large-scale nationwide data are needed to further assess the level of risk of invasive cervical cancer after DNR using different available hrHPV testing methods.

Limitations of widely used high-risk human papillomavirus laboratory-developed testing in cervical cancer screening

OBJECTIVE

To increase awareness of the limitations of high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) laboratory-developed testing (LDT) widely used in US cervical cancer screening.

METHODS AND RESULTS

A young woman in her 30s was diagnosed and treated for stage 1B1 cervical squamous cell carcinoma in which HPV 16 DNA was detected using polymerase chain reaction testing. Both 1 month before and 42 months before cervical cancer diagnosis, the patient had highly abnormal cytology findings; however, residual SurePath™ (Becton, Dickson and Company, Franklin Lakes, NJ) vial fluid yielded negative Hybrid Capture 2 (HC2; Qiagen NV, Hilden, Germany) hrHPV LDT results from each of the two specimens. This prompted questions to be asked concerning the performance characteristics of hrHPV LDT. A review of the available data indicates that (1) purification of DNA from SurePath specimens requires complex sample preparation due to formaldehyde crosslinking of proteins and nucleic acids, (2) HC2-SurePath hrHPV testing had not been Food and Drug Administration-approved after multiple premarket approval submissions, (3) detectible hrHPV DNA in the SurePath vial decreases over time, and (4) US laboratories performing HC2-SurePath hrHPV LDT testing are not using a standardized manufacturer-endorsed procedure.

CONCLUSION

Recently updated cervical screening guidelines in the US recommend against the use of hrHPV LDT in cervical screening, including widely used HC2 testing from the SurePath vial. The manufacturer recently issued a technical bulletin specifically warning that use of SurePath samples with the HC2 hrHPV test may provide false negative results and potentially compromise patient safety. Co-collection using a Food and Drug Administration-approved hrHPV test medium is recommended for HPV testing of patients undergoing cervical screening using SurePath samples.

Cytology and human papillomavirus screening test results associated with 2827 histopathologic diagnoses of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 2/3

CONTEXT

Cervical screening in the United States increasingly involves newer US Food and Drug Administration-approved cytologic methods and adjunctive high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) DNA testing.

OBJECTIVE

To document cervical screening test performance preceding histopathologic cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) 2/3 diagnoses.

DESIGN

Preceding screening test results with computer-imaged, liquid-based cytology (LBC) and hrHPV results were analyzed for 2827 patients with histopathologic CIN 2/3 diagnoses.

RESULTS

Of 2827 patients with CIN 2/3 diagnoses, 2074 (73.4%) had system LBC findings within 4 months of CIN 2/3 diagnoses: high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (n = 862; 41.6%), low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (n = 464; 22.4%), atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (n = 445; 21.5%), atypical squamous cells, cannot exclude high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (n = 288; 13.9%), and atypical glandular cells/adenocarcinoma in situ (n = 15; 0.7%). Of the 2827 patients, 1488 (52.6%) also had earlier system LBC results at more than 4 months to 3 years before CIN 2/3 diagnoses: one or more abnormal LBC results (n = 978; 65.7%), one or more negative LBC results (n = 911; 61.2%), both abnormal and negative LBC (n = 401; 26.9%). Of 807 patients with hrHPV cotest results within 4 months of CIN 2/3 diagnoses, 786 (97.4%) had hrHPV(+) results. Of 454 patients who also had earlier hrHPV results at more than 4 months to 3 years before CIN 2/3 diagnoses: 377 (83.0%) had one or more hrHPV(+) result, 110 (24.2%) had one or more hrHPV(-) result, and 33 (7.3%) had both positive and negative HPV results.

CONCLUSION

Patients with histopathologic CIN 2/3 had recent abnormal LBC results, most often, high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions. Among cotested patients, 97.4% (786 of 807) tested hrHPV(+). However, a significant number of patients tested during an extended period of several years had earlier negative Papanicolaou or negative HPV test results, suggesting the recent development of some CIN 2/3 lesions and supporting the value of cotesting for enhanced detection of other developing, small, inaccessible, or nondiagnostic precursor lesions.

Follow-up outcomes in a large cohort of patients with human papillomavirus-negative ASC-H cervical screening test results

Limited follow-up data are available on patients with cervical cytology results of atypical squamous cells, cannot exclude a high-grade intraepithelial lesion (ASC-H), who test negative for high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV). Between June 2005 and December 2010, 885 patients were identified with ThinPrep results of Hybrid Capture 2 (HC2) hrHPV-negative cervical ASC-H liquid-based cytology and follow-up histopathology or cytology results extending to September 2011. Of the 885 patients with available follow-up results, 549 (62.0%) had at least 1 histopathologic result during the entire follow-up period, whereas 336 (38.0%) had only cytologic follow-up documented. In an average follow-up period of 29 months, 14 (1.6%) of 885 patients with HPV-negative ASC-H results showed evidence of high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN2/3). No cases of invasive cervical cancer were diagnosed. Four of 14 patients with HPV-negative ASC-H results with follow-up diagnoses of CIN2/3 had a history of earlier CIN2/3 diagnoses before HPV-negative ASC-H results. Follow-up of patients with HPV-negative ASC-H results using methods specified in this study yielded low rates of detectible CIN2/3 and no diagnoses of cervical cancer. Triage of study patients with HPV-negative ASC-H results to routine HPV and cytology cotesting at 1 year was a safe follow-up option.