Usefulness of combining testing for p16 protein and human papillomavirus (HPV) in cervical carcinoma screening.

Objective: To evaluate the value of the combination of p16 and HPV detection in the screening for cervical cancer.
Methods: 186 patients with previous abnormal cervical lesion were studied. After colposcopic examination, two conventional Pap slides were prepared: the first was Papanicolaou-stained and examined by cytologist; the second was immunocytochemically stained for p16. Cervical cells were collected by brush using for HPV detection by Hybrid Capture II. Biopsy of any colposcopically abnormal lesions was performed.
Results: The 186 cervical samples were classified cytologically as normal (148), ASCUS (13), low-grade (11), high-grade (12) dysplasia and squamous cell carcinoma (2). P16 and HPV were found in all high-grade dysplasia and SCC, and in 64% and 27% of low-grade dysplasia, 62% and 0% of ASCUS and 7.4% and 3.4% of normal, respectively. 18 of p16-positive cases (11%) were HPV-negative, 14 of them in the ASCUS and normal group. Compared to histological results, all of the p16-positive cases of squamous metaplasia, CIN II/III and SCC were HR-HPV-positive. Therefore, the cases that were positive for both with normal cytology (5 cases) or low-grade dysplasia (3 cases) may comprise a high-risk group for neoplastic change.
Conclusion: The combination of p16 and HPV detection may be useful in cervical cancer screening to identify high-risk patients requiring early and proper management.