Objective: To estimate the risk of high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) in adolescents with HIV.
Materials and methods: Review of cervical cytology and biopsy results from women aged 20 years and younger obtained within 3 years of enrollment in a prospective multicenter study.
Results: At enrollment, none of 132 adolescent participants (45 HIV seropositive and 87 seronegative) had HSIL or cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 or 3 (CIN 2,3). Eight (7%) of 123 women with follow-up developed high-grade disease after a median of 2.6 years of observation. The incidence of HSIL/CIN 2,3 was 2.7/100 person-years (4.8/100 person-years in HIV seropositive and 1.6/100 person-years in HIV seronegative women; relative risk = 3.1; 95% CI = 0.76-12.74; p =.13). No cancers were found in adolescents during the study.
Conclusions: The low incidence of HSIL or CIN 2,3 in adolescents suggests that optimal management is careful observation rather than preventive treatment of low-grade abnormalities.