Previous studies of the histologic correlation in women who have atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance cytology (ASC-US) and are positive for high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV+) have predominantly utilized the Hybrid Capture 2 (HC2) test, whereas the use of other US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved methods is relatively limited.
Cases of ASC-US/hrHPV+ that were tested using HC2, Cervista, or Aptima were retrieved, and the immediate histologic correlations were analyzed.
Overall, 53.9% (n = 3238) of women with ASC-US/hrHPV+ had immediate histologic correlation. The detection rates for grade 1 cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN1) were similar among the 3 methods (37.1%-41.8%), while the overall detection rates for grade 2 CIN or higher (CIN2+) were much lower (5.1%-9.0%). CIN2+ detection rates were similar among different age groups for HC2 testing, whereas for Cervista and Aptima testing, detection rates were highest in the youngest group (age <25 years) and decreased with age. Statistical analyses revealed that the CIN2+ detection rate was significantly higher in younger women who were tested with Cervista.
These hrHPV testing methods revealed low CIN2+ detection rates in women with ASC-US/hrHPV+ but demonstrated different patterns when using age-stratified analyses. The high rate of CIN2+ detection in women aged <25 years by the Cervista and Aptima testing platforms, but not the HC2 platform, suggest that continual investigation of FDA-approved clinical hrHPV testing-especially large-scale, long-term, prospective studies-is needed to evaluate the best options for management of ASC-US/hrHPV+ in this age group.