Prevalence of Abnormal Cervical Cells among Women Undergoing Cervical Cancer Screening with HPV DNA Testing in Phon District, Khon Kaen Province

Abstract

Cervical cancer screening, combined with appropriate treatment of precancerous lesions, is an effective and cost-effective strategy for reducing the incidence of cervical cancer. Thailand currently uses HPV DNA testing for cervical cancer screening. However, up-to-date data on the prevalence of cervical cytological abnormalities in individual geographic areas remain limited. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of high-risk HPV infection and its genotypes, as well as the prevalence of detected abnormal cervical lesions, and to classify the types of abnormal cervical cells found among women undergoing cervical cancer screening via HPV DNA testing in Phon District, Khon Kaen Province. This retrospective cross-sectional study collected data from women who underwent HPV DNA screening in Phon District between October 2022 and September 2024. From an initial sample of 1,939 cases, 1,885 women met the inclusion criteria. The research instruments included data recording forms for HPV DNA, cytology, and pathology results. The results revealed an overall prevalence of HR-HPV infection of 7.43% (95% CI: 6.24 - 8.61) and a prevalence of detected abnormal cervical cells of 2.81% (95% CI: 2.07 - 3.56). The HPV non-16/18 genotypes were the most frequently detected (110 cases); however, abnormal cervical cells were found in only 30.00% of these cases. In contrast, women testing positive for HPV 16 and 18 exhibited a high proportion of abnormal cells at 68.42% and 63.64%, respectively. HR-HPV infection was inversely associated with age; younger women (30–39 years) had the highest infection prevalence at 12.50%, and the infection rate significantly decreased with advancing age (p < 0.001). Furthermore, the infection rate among pre-menopausal women (8.65%) was significantly higher than that in post-menopausal women (5.80%) (p = 0.025). Data regarding the prevalence of abnormal cervical cells can facilitate the planning of expanded cervical cancer screening programs and the management of resources for patients requiring colposcopy in the area.