Human papillomavirus detection in cervical lesions nondiagnostic for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia: correlation with Papanicolaou smear, colposcopy, and occurrence of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is associated with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and carcinomas. The present study involved women who had an abnormal Papanicolaou smear and whose cervix contained acetowhite area(s) that lacked the histologic features of CIN. Sequences homologous to HPV DNA, determined by Southern blot hybridization analysis, were detected in 20 of 59 cervical biopsy specimens (34%) that lacked the histologic features of CIN