Human papillomavirus typing and the reduction of cervical cancer risk

Minor cervical cytologic abnormalities are common, but knowing which low-gr ade lesions will progress to cervical cancer-and therefore deserve biopsy a nd excision-is difficult. Since some human papillomavirus (HPV) types are s trongly associated with cervical cancer, HPV typing may be a means of deter mining which patients with minor abnormalities require biopsy and treatment and which need only follow-up smears. This paper reviews the association b etween cervical cancer and HPV infection, the pathogenesis of HPV infection , the utility of HPV typing in triaging patients with a diagnosis of atypic al squamous cells of undetermined significance, and the prospects for the d evelopment of an HPV vaccine.