High prevalence of high-risk human papillomavirus infection among women with Trichomonas vaginalis infection on monolayer cytology

Objective To evaluate the risk of high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in women with Trichomonas vaginalis infection, and the reason remains unclear. Methods A total of 40,000 liquid-based cytology specimens were tested from 2005 to 2008. Among these, high-risk HPV testing using the hybrid capture II assay was performed in positive cases of T. vaginalis according to the age of patients (<30 years old, between 30 and 50 years old, more than 50 years old). As controls, HPV detection was also performed in 450 normal smears. Results T. vaginalis was found in 80 cases (0.2%). From these 80 cases, 57 were available for HPV testing (8 patients <30 years old, 42 patients between 30 and 50 years old and 7 patients more than 50 years old). As controls, high-risk HPV was tested in 150 patients with normal cytology for each of these three age categories. High-risk HPV was significantly more frequently detected in women with T. vaginalis than in women with normal smear irrespective of the categories of age ( P < 0.01). Conclusion For the first time, we demonstrated a significant prevalence of high-risk HPV in women with cytological proved T. vaginalis infection independent of the age ranges. Our data suggest a potential association between these two infectious agents by the way of a sexual intercourse and probably by a biochemical or immunological reasons.