TITLE:
Cervical cancer screening program based on HPV testing and conventional Papanicolaou cytology for jail inmates
AUTHORS:
Vincenza Fabiano, Luciano Mariani, Maria Rosaria Giovagnoli, Salvatore Raffa, Cristina Vincenzoni, Fausto de Michetti, Francesco Bevere, Deborah French
KEYWORDS:
Cervical Cancer Screening; HPV
JOURNAL NAME:
Health,
Vol.2 No.9,
September
29,
2010
ABSTRACT: Background: To assess the validity of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) testing in a group of women at high risk for developing cervical cancer, a screening intervention was applied to a population of jail inmates in Rome, Italy. This cross-sectional study provided also new insights on the risk factors and on the HPV genotype distribution. Methods: We have invited 350 inmates to the preliminary stage of the screening program and 98 inmates decided to participate to the study and filled out a questionnaire for the history of attendance to previous cervical screening and for the known risk factors for cervical malignancies. HPV DNA test, conventional Pap smear and HPV genotyping were performed. Results: The percentage of women with High Risk (HR) HPV positivity were 19.3%. The inmates with LSIL/ HSIL status showed a significantly higher pre- valence of HR-HPV positivity (100% vs. 16.3%; p