Morphological features of cervical ectopy in cervical intraepithelial neoplasia in women with infertility
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26641/1997-9665.2025.3.91-97Keywords:
cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, cervical ectopy, squamous metaplasia, infertility, female reproductive system, human papillomavirus infection, pathomorphology, uterine cervix, gynecological pathology.Abstract
Background. Despite the growing scientific interest in cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, the prevalence and morphological variants of cervical ectopy in the context of various forms of infertility remain insufficiently studied. Objective. To assess the prevalence and histological features of cervical ectopy in women with different types of infertility and CIN, and to analyze the association of these changes with HPV infection. Methods. A total of 250 reproductive-aged women with histologically confirmed CIN in the setting of infertility were examined. All cervical biopsy specimens underwent standard histological processing and hematoxylin and eosin staining. The presence of cervical ectopy, squamous metaplasia, and CIN grade were evaluated, followed by analysis of their frequency in relation to the type of infertility and the presence of HPV infection. Statistical analysis was performed using the chi-square (χ²) test. Results and conclusions. Cervical ectopy was detected in 79.2% of patients with CIN, most commonly in cases of low-grade lesions (46.46%). The highest rate of cervical ectopy was observed in women with tubal infertility (44.94%). The frequency of squamous metaplasia within cervical ectopy increased proportionally with CIN severity: 13.04% in CIN I, 16.0% in CIN II, and 29.0% in CIN III. In groups with metaplastic ectopy, patients with tubal and combined types of infertility predominated. No statistically significant association was found between the type of infertility and the variant of ectopy (p>0.05). Cervical ectopy is a common morphological background in CIN, particularly in the presence of HPV infection, and is more frequently observed in women with tubal infertility. The identified trend of increasing squamous metaplasia in cervical ectopy with higher CIN grades, especially in patients with combined infertility, may indicate its potential role as a morphological predictor of CIN progression and warrants further investigation.
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