Bacterial vaginosis is not important in the etiology of cervical neoplasia: a survey on women with dyskaryotic smears.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

It has been suggested that bacterial vaginosis may play a role in the etiology of cervical neoplasia. The authors analyzed the prevalence, risk factors, and impact on histologic changes of bacterial vaginosis in women with cytological abnormalities of the uterine cervix.

METHODS

Two-hundred-eighty women with dyskaryotic smears were surveyed. Using a questionnaire, data were obtained on smoking habits and sexual history. Bacterial vaginosis was the diagnosis if the vaginal discharge produced a fishy odor upon alkalinization and if clue cells were seen in the wet smear. Cervical scrapes were analyzed for the presence of human papillomavirus DNA, and cervical tissue specimens were analyzed for the presence and severity of (intraepithelial) neoplasia and the proliferation rate (mitotic index) of the lesion. Chlamydia trachomatis was identified by culture of an endocervical swab.

RESULTS

Bacterial vaginosis was found in 56 (20%) out of the 280 women. The presence of bacterial vaginosis was significantly associated with the number of cigarettes smoked per day, age at first sexual intercourse, the lifetime number of sexual partners, and current Chlamydia trachomatis infection. The number of cigarettes currently smoked per day and the lifetime number of sexual partners were independent significant risk factors for the presence of bacterial vaginosis. There was no relation between the presence of bacterial vaginosis and the human papillomavirus infection. Bacterial vaginosis did not influence the severity of the (intraepithelial) neoplasia or the mitotic index.

CONCLUSION

In women with dyskaryotic cervical smears, the prevalence of bacterial vaginosis did not seem to be increased, and bacterial vaginosis did not influence the histologic changes. Therefore, bacterial vaginosis is unlikely to be important in the etiology of cervical neoplasia, despite the similarity between its epidemiologic features and those of cervical human papillomavirus infection and cervical neoplasia.