Human papillomavirus viral load: a possible marker for cervical disease in HIV-infected women

Laboratory markers of human papillomavirus infection have been recognized as relevant tools in programmes designed to reduce the burden of cervical cancer. The ongoing experience with these laboratory markers serves to confirm not only their negative predictive value (close to 100%) but also their positive association with developing or developed lesions. This aspect is particularly relevant in HIV-infected subjects who show an increased prevalence, incidence and severity of infections and lesions even in the era of efficacious control of their immunosuppression. Among the possible virus-related parameters proposed as relevant markers (viral persistence, load, expression, genomic integration capacity) we here analyse the informative value of human papillomavirus viral load measurement as a possible risk marker in this particular clinical setting.