HPV and precancerous lesions of anal canal in women: systematic review

Abstract

The infection caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) in the anogenital area is considered the most common sexually transmitted infection in the world. Although anal cancer is relatively uncommon in the general population, there has been a significant increase in incidence in recent years. In this review, we focused on research on anal lesions in women. Research on HPV and precancerous lesions of the anal canal was examined by a systematic literature review in the Cochrane Centre of Brazil, where 1,734 publications were identified in the databases Scielo Brazil, Pubmed, Lilac, Medline, and Old Medline, for the period 1966 to 2010. We selected two papers, published in 1994 and 2009, based on the inclusion-exclusion criteria. The first paper refers to the study of the anal canal in HIV-negative women with previous genital pathology and its relationship to the presence of HPV, and the other compares two groups of women who are HIV+ and HIV- and its relationship with anal disease and HPV. The existence of previous genital neoplasia associated with HPV promotes the development of anal lesions, especially in younger patients, and a poor immune status contributes to the appearance of this pathologic finding.