Prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis and oncogenic human papillomavirus types in cytologic atypia of the uterine cervix

A history of having substantial Chlamydia trachomatis exposure as detected by serum antibodies is a cofactor of human papillomavirus (HPV) mediated cervical carcinogenesis. In this study, we examined the concurrent C. trachomatis infections in cytologic atypia of the uterine cervix in order to evaluate the impact of C. trachomatis infection in patients with high risk for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia. Cervical scrapes form 707 patients were subjected to PCR amplification with primer sets for HPV and C. trachomatis. Based on negative beta-globin results, 10 specimens were not eligible for further analysis. Oncogenic HPV types were detected in 278 specimens (39.8%). C. trachomatis was found only in six specimens (0.9%). In conclusion, concurrent C. trachomatis infection was uncommon and hence it was an improbable risk factor in cytologic atypia.