The relationship between HPV persistence and vaginal microbiotas in high risk-human papillomavirus positive patients

To investigate whether vaginal microbiota (VM) composition is associated with high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) persistence.

Ethics committee approval was obtained on March 7, 2024. Following completion of the two-year prospective clinical follow-up, data collection and analysis were performed between March 15, 2024, and August 15, 2024. The study was considered completed upon final data analysis and included a total of 98 women: 49 women who cleared HR-HPV infection at the two-year follow-up and 49 women with persistent HR-HPV infection. Vaginal swab samples were collected, cultured, and analyzed, with particular attention to Lactobacillus species. Vaginal microbiota profiles were evaluated and compared between groups.

There were no statistically significant differences between the groups in terms of sociodemographic characteristics. No statistically significant differences were observed between HPV-negative and HPV-positive women or between HPV 16/18-positive and other HR-HPV positive groups with respect to Community State Types (CSTs) (p > 0.05). Overall vaginal microbiota composition did not differ significantly between HPV-positive and HPV-negative women. However, a statistically significant difference in CST distribution was observed between women with single and multiple HR-HPV infections (p = 0.002).

Vaginal microbiota composition does not differ significantly between HPV-positive and HPV-negative women. In contrast, significant differences are observed between women with single and multiple HR-HPV infections.