Spontaneous Regression Rate of Low Grade Cervical Intraepithelial Lesions Diagnosed from Colposcopy

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Objective: To evaluate the spontaneous regression rate and its associated factors of low grade intraepithelial lesionsafter colposcopy in Thai women.Material and Methods: A retrospective study of the data of Thai women, not younger than 21 years old with liquidbased cervical cytology of atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASC-US) or low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSIL), who had received colposcopic examination with histologically proven cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 1 (CIN1) or human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. All patients underwent cytologic tests as the follow-up method for at least 2 years at the Gynecology Clinic, Siriraj Hospital. Analyzed data included patient characteristics, cervical cytological and pathological results, colposcopic findings and evidence of cytological regression. The correlations between each variable and regression status were then measured.Results: Data of a total of 154 patients who completed 2 years of follow-up were reviewed. One hundred and two patients had cytologic regression, showing a regression rate of 66.2%. There was 31.8% persistent abnormal cytology, and 2.0% progressed to high-grade cervical intraepithelial lesions. All patients with persistence or progression of cervical cytology had no invasive lesion. The only factor significantly related to cytologic regression was the pattern of colposcopic findings (p-value=0.041). The HPV-specific lesion on the colposcopy showed the significant pattern with an odds ratio of 3.5 (95% confidence interval=1.2-10.1, p-value=0.028).Conclusion: Women who had initial cervical cytology of ASC-US or LSIL with colposcopic histological confirmation of CIN1 or HPV infection had spontaneous regression, about two-thirds within 2 years of follow-up time. Thus, conservative management in these patients should be considered.