7. High prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and high-grade anal intraepithelial neoplasia in HIV-seropositive women, the EVVA study

Background Women living with HIV are at increased risk of anal HPV infection, anal intraepithelial neoplasia (AIN) and anal cancer. This study will describe the burden of infection and of high-grade AIN (AIN-2,3) in a population of HIV-infected women living in Montreal, Canada. Methods: HIV-seropositive women aged ≥18 years old are recruited in the cohort study EVVA. Participants are followed every 6 months for 2 years with questionnaires, cervical/anal HPV testing, cervical/anal cytology and high-resolution anoscopy (HRA). Results: Of the 116 first participants, 88 (75.9%, 95% confidence interval (CI) 67.3–82.8) were infected by HPV in the anal canal. In contrast, 58 of these participants (50%, 95% CI 41.1–59.0) had cervical HPV infection). The most frequent types were HPV16 (n = 19), HPV51 (n = 18), HPV81 and HPV62 (n = 15 each), and HPV45 and HPV58 (n = 14 for each). An average of 2.3 ± 3.1 HPV types (median of 1) were detected per anal sample. Of the 89 participants with satisfactory cytology, 5 had high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions. HRA from 95 women revealed 17 AIN2,3 (17.9%, 95% confidence interval (CI) 11.4–26.9), 43 AIN1 (45.3%, 95% CI 35.6–55.3), and only 35 without AIN (36.8%, 95% CI 27.8–46.9). Biopsies from 4 women gave undetermined results. Conclusions: Our study revealed that anal HPV infection was more frequently detected than cervical infection in HIV-seropositive women. Prevalent AIN2,3 is a significant problem in women infected with HIV. Prospective follow-up of women with AIN1 will disclose the proportion of women with progressive AIN.