ART Is Associated with Regression of HPV-Related Cervical Dysplasia in HIV-Coinfected Women

Women with HIV infection are at increased risk for persistent human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and HPV-associated invasive cervical cancer. Moreover, HIV-infected women harbor a wider variety of HPV genotypes than HIV-uninfected women and are more likely to be infected with multiple genotypes simultaneously. How antiretroviral therapy (ART) affects HPV persistence and progression of cervical squamous intraepithelial lesions (SILs) is unclear.

In a recent study, researchers analyzed cervical cytology and vaginal HPV testing data from 1073 women (750 HIV-infected; 323 at high risk for HIV) participating in a prospective, longitudinal, multicenter cohort study between 1993 and 2002. On enrollment, 54% of HIV-infected participants were recei…