The prognostic significance of acetowhitening of the vulva and HPV-DNA test. A multicentre study

Acetowhitening of the vulva has been related to a subclinical human papillo mavirus (HPV) infection. No consense has been reached about undertaking -or not- any therapy for these acetowhite changes. We have observed from our c linical experience and in a 10 years observational follow-up, that acetowhi tening of the vulva regarding high risk (16-18) and low risk (6-11) HPV gro ups (as assessed by PCR analysis) significantly decreased; and acetowhiteni ng areas negative to polymerase chain reaction (PCR), significantly increas ed from 53% (202/382) to 85% (276/325) (P < 0.001). Our findings suggest th at independently from HPV type and in the absence of cofactors, there is a statistically significant spontaneous remission of these areas. (C) 2001 El sevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.