Evaluation of the Combination of Cytology and Hybrid Capture to Safely Predict the High-Grade Lesion Status of Patients Treated with Conization with Large Loop Excision of the Transformation Zone

Objectives: This study aimed to verify whether human papillomavirus (HPV) testing after conization treatment has some potential usefulness for predicting patients’ outcome. Study Design: One hundred and twenty women were treated for HSIL by conization with large loop excision of the transformation zone (LLETZ). Cytology, colposcopy-guided biopsy, and hybrid capture 2 (HC2) HPV DNA tests were performed before the surgical procedure and every 6 months for 2 years at follow-up. Results: More than 90% of the patients tested positive for high-risk HPV prior to the surgical intervention. Six months after the cervical conization, 74.75% of the patients tested negative for high-risk HPV DNA, and 19.41% were positive. Of the women who were HC2 negative, 72 showed normal cytological smears, 3 ASC-US, 2 LSIL, and 1 HSIL. Of those who were HC2 positive, 8 showed normal smears, 2 ASC-US, 2 ASC-H, 5 LSIL, and 1 case had HSIL, AGC, and squamous cells invasive carcinoma. Clinically, the HSIL case with a negative HPV test did not show any sign of high-grade lesions, and the clinical follow-up did not show residual lesions. Conclusions: Negative HPV tests correlated with freedom from high-grade disease after 2 years of postconization follow-up, which strongly suggests that negative HPV tests predict the absence of cervical disease.