Is cervical dysplasia a major concern in females with inflammatory bowel disease? A Spanish retrospective study

Abstract

Cervical cancer (CC) is the fourth most common cancer affecting women worldwide. The risk of women immunosuppressed due to AIDS or organ transplantation is well documented, as most cases are caused by persistent human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and immunosuppression can prevent clearing HPV. Although European guidelines advise that inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) women under immunosuppression should be screened for CC as regularly as high-risk patients, quality evidence is lacking in our country. We performed a retrospective case-control (2020-2021) study to analyse the risk factors associated with the appearance of low-grade (LSIL) or high-grade (HSIL) squamous intraepithelial cervical lesions in patients with IBD. We included all women aged 21-65 years , followed up at the University Hospital Fundación Alcorcón (Spain). Cases were defined as those patients with abnormalities in cervical cytology, while the control group consisted of the rest of the women. Disease characteristics, treatments and epidemiological data (smoking habit, sexual behaviour and reproductive history) were obtained. We documented the evolution of abnormalities over time and compare data between women under immunosuppressive treatment or not.