Human Papillomavirus and Cervical Intra-Epithelial Neoplasia: Epidemiological and Cytological Study in Lubumbashi Women

The objective of this study is to show that the presence of koilocytosis on the cervical smear is the only possibility to detect Papillomavirus infection in cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia in women living in Lubumbashi. This is a cross-sectional analytical study on the data collected from the register of women who participated in the cervix lesion screening campaign organized in Lubumbashi in March 2012 by the Congolese League Against Cancer. A total of 545 women with cervical lesions have been selected. The following results were observed: the frequency of HPV infection is 35% in Lubumbashi women. The risk of developing intraepithelial neoplasia is 38.3 times higher in women infected with HPV compared to uninfected ones (OR = 38.3, 95% CI = 16.3-90.3). HPV is predominantly present in intraepithelial neoplasia (92.7%) and this regardless of their grade: 91.9% for low-grade neoplasia and 95% for high-grade neoplasia. HPV is found in both older women and older women, respectively in 45% of women aged less than 36 years and in 55% of women aged over 36 years old. This study shows that it is necessary to put in place adequate means for the detection of HPV in order to contribute to the fight against cervical cancer in Lubumbashi.