Association between genital mycoplasma and cervical squamous cell atypia

Abstract

Objectives: To investigate the existence of an association between genital mycoplasma infections and cervical squamous cell atypia. Study design: Prospective cross-sectional study. Setting: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, in collaboration with the Clinical Pathology and Pathology Departments, Faculty of Medicine, Benha University, Egypt. Patients and methods: Three-hundred women were scheduled into two equal groups. The control group included 150 women with negative Pap smear for cervical atypia. The study group included 150 women with cervical squamous cell atypia proved by Pap smear. Swabs obtained from endocervix and posterior vaginal fornix were subjected to culture for detection of genital mycoplasma using Mycoplasma IST2. Outcome measures were the rates of cervicovaginal infection with genital mycoplasma in both groups, and estimation of the co-occurrence of genital mycoplasma and cervical squamous cell atypia. Results: Using Mycoplasma IST2 kit genital mycoplasmas were positive in (49.33% vs. 28.67%) of cases in study and control groups, respectively. Ureaplasma urealyticum was isolated more frequent than mycoplasma hominis and mixed mycoplasma infection. U. urealyticum colonization was demonstrated in women with HSIL (57.5%) significantly more frequent compared to women with LSIL (36.59%), ASCUS (30.43%), and with normal cytology (21.33%); P = 0.019. Conclusion: Ureaplasma urealyticum was present significantly more often in women with cervical cytological atypia, suggesting the existence of an association between cervicovaginal infections with U. urealyticum and precancerous lesions of the uterine cervix.

Keywords

• Mycoplasma hominis
• Ureaplasma urealyticum
• Cervical atypia
• ASCUS
• LSIL
• HSIL