Clinical, Cytological and Genotypic Correlation between Oral Mucosa and Lower Genital Tract Lesions Related to HPV Infection in Women

To determine oral-genital coinfection with HPV in female patients who presented lesions suggestive of oral and genital HPV infection. Study design: 76 female patients, who attended Department of Oral Medicine of the School of Dentistry of the University of Buenos Aires were included. Oral clinical inspection, exfoliative cytology and nested polymerase chain reaction and subsequent sequencing (PCR) for HPV were performed. The 76 women were referred to the Department of Lower Genital Tract (TGI) of the Jos de San Martin Hospital for their gynecological study to search for lesions compatible with HPV infection by colposcopy, Pap smear and PCR. Correlation / regression coefficient and relative risk were estimated. Results: 39 positive oral lesions were found with PCR. Of the 76 patients with lesions suggestive of oral HPV, 11 patients also had lesions compatible with the virus in the lower genital tract. Only 10 lesions were positive for HPV at this location. There was coincidence in three oral-genital cases. Two patients had the same HPV genotype and one had different genotypes. Conclusions: In this study the percentage of oral-genital HPV coinfection was 27.27 %. This suggests that oral HPV is not a predisposing factor for genital infection in the same patient.