Human papillomavirus typing and the reduction of cervical cancer risk

Minor cervical cytologic abnormalities are common, but knowing which low-grade lesions will progress to cervical cancer-and therefore deserve biopsy and excision-is difficult. Since some human papillomavirus (HPV) types are strongly associated with cervical cancer, HPV typing may be a means of determining which patients with minor abnormalities require biopsy and treatment and which need only follow-up smears. This paper reviews the association between cervical cancer and HPV infection, the pathogenesis of HPV infection, the utility of HPV typing in triaging patients with a diagnosis of atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance, and the prospects for the development of an HPV vaccine.