Colposcopy Versus HPV Testing to Identify Persistent Cervical Precancers

Specimens will be collected with a cervical cytobrush and cervical cells will be resuspended in 2 ml of Preservcyt® (Hologic LP), a liquid cytology preservation media. 75µl of processed sample will be hybridized with 25 µl of probe B mixture. The assay is completed as a standard enzyme immunoassay with the addition of a dioxetane-based chemiluminescent substrate. Specimens will be considered positive for HPV if the ratio of RLUs of the specimen to the mean RLUs of triplicates of positive control (at 1 pg per ml or 5000 copies of HPV genome per test) is at least one.

Women will undergo colposcopy, with no standardized protocol; tests are left at the discretion of the treating physician, in order to document routine proactive. We will document all procedures (biopsies, endocervical curettage, cytology, etc) and their outcome.