Cervico‐vaginal dysplasia—papillomavirus‐induced and HIV‐1 infection: role of correlated markers for prognostic evaluation

Abstract

Sexually-transmitted diseases (STD) can facilitate the progression of HIV-1 infection. Among them, as we have previously demonstrated, cervico-vaginal dysplasia-papillomavirus (HPV)-induced, together with HSV-2 co-infection, seems to be correlated with a more evident immunodepression in HIV-positive women, compared with other sexually transmitted diseases. Here we have analysed some of the main correlated markers of HIV-1 infection progression: CD4 + T lymphocyte concentration, CD4 +/CD8 + T cells ratio, HIV-1 RNA loads and haemoglobin (Hb) concentration in 30 HIV-1 positive women co-infected with HPV, and suffering from cervico-vaginal dysplasia, in different stages. In particular, we noticed a positive correlation, evaluated by Spearman's test, between the degree of progression of dysplastic stages (CIN1 --> 3) until invasive carcinoma (IC) and HIV-1 RNA loads (C(s) = +0.78; p < 0.001), and in contrast, a negative correlation between the same stages of progression and respectively CD4 + T cell concentration (C(s) = -0.54; p = 0.01), ratio (C(s) = - 0.63; p = 0.002) and Hb concentration (C(s) = -0.85; p < 0.001). In conclusion, it is important to underline that low levels of Hb generally paralleled the degree of immunodepression. In fact CD4 + T cell levels and ratio positively correlated with Hb concentrations respectively, with C(s) = + 0.83; p < 0.001 and C(s) = + 0.90; p < 0.001. Finally, the most efficacious antiretroviral combined therapy (HAART = Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy) can improve the above described laboratory parameters in HIV-1/HPV co-infected women and seems to prevent the progression of CIN1 to the following stages of the dysplastic disease.

Syndemics and Public Health: Reconceptualizing Disease in Bio‐Social Context

“…Pugliese, Andronico et al (2002), for example, have demonstrated that human papillomavirus (HPV) (a cause of cervical cancer) and herpes simplex virus (type 2) coinfection, correlates with greater immunodepression in HIV-positive women, compared with other sexually transmitted diseases. Pugliese, Andronico et al (2002), for example, have demonstrated that human papillomavirus (HPV) (a cause of cervical cancer) and herpes simplex virus (type 2) coinfection, correlates with greater immunodepression in HIV-positive women, compared with other sexually transmitted diseases.…”