Preliminary study of HPV integration status on the occurrence and development of vaginal intraepithelial neoplasia

Abstract Aim The aim of this study was to investigate how the integration status of HPV in the vaginal epithelium affects the development of vaginal intraepithelial neoplasia (VaIN). Methods Twenty‐four vaginal tissues were collected before applying high‐throughput viral integration detection (HIVID), medical records of them were documented, including age, thin‐prep cytologic test (TCT) and HPV test results, colposcopic biopsy pathology, and other clinical data, such as history of total hysterectomy for cervical lesions, whether they were infected with HPV16/18 with a follow‐up span of 2 years. We summarized the distribution of HPV integration on the host chromosome and HPV type, as well as the hotspot integration gene and its role in the development of VaIN. Results In this study, 24 cases suffered from VaIN were involved. HPV integration was detected in 11 cases; furthermore, we discovered HPV 16 and 73, chromosome 1 and 2 possessed most HPV integration sites while EMBP1, CLO5A1, EHF, ELF5 as dominate hot spots. Taken clinical outcome into account, we found a significant difference between HPV integration occurrence and VaIN ( p = 0.011). Conclusion (1) This study found a statistical difference between HPV integration and the occurrence of VaIN; (2) HPV integration may provide a new clinical predictor for VaIN and facilitate risk assessment and stratified management of high‐risk patients.