Infections of the cervix uteri with human papillomavirus and Chlamydia trachomatis

Apart from infection with human papillomavirus (HPV), other microorganisms may be involved in the development of cervical neoplasia. To study concomitant infections with HPV and Chlamydia trachomatis, cervical specimens from 4 groups of women were examined for the presence of these microorganisms by the polymerase chain reaction. The first group consisted of 143 consecutive samples from women with no cytological abnormalities who participated in a triennial screening program to prevent cervical cancer. In this group 2 samples were found positive for HPV and 2 additional samples were found positive for C. trachomatis. In the second group of 46 cytologically abnormal smears, HPV DNA was detected in 71.7% of the samples and C. tra chomatis in 4.3%. In a third group of 94 histological abnormal biopsies, the HPV prevalence ranged from 15% in mild dysplastic lesions up to 92% in invasive cervical carcinomas. Only 2 biopsies of this group (2.1%) were found positive for C. trachomatis. Finally, a group of cervical scrapes was obtained from women attending a clinic for sexually transmitted diseases. In 52 samples positive for C. trachomatis and 60 samples negative for C. trachomatis, no significant (P = 0.57) difference in the frequency of HPV infections was found (11.5% and 8.3%, respectively). The data show that in these study groups HPV and C. trachomatis are independently occurring agents.