Human papillomavirus type influences the extent of chromosomal lag during mitosis in cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade III

The level of risk for carcinoma in the uterine cervix depends on the type of human papillomavirus (HPV) present. We examined whether the HPV type influences the proliferation rate and occurrence of mitotic figures with lagging chromosomes in the precursor of cervical carcinoma. The study group comprised 180 women who were referred because of cytologic changes indicating dysplasia and who were subsequently diagnosed with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade III. The HPV-16-associated lesions showed a significantly higher number of mitoses per 1,000 nuclei than the lesions without HPV (p < 0.001). The HPV-16-associated lesions also showed a significantly higher proportion of mitotic figures with lagging chromosomes than did the HPV-18- or HPV-31-associated lesions and lesions without HPV (p = 0.01, p = 0.007, and p = 0.002, respectively). Our results indicate that the differences in oncogenic potential among HPVs become apparent in the precursor lesion through the differences in the extent of chromosomal lag during mitosis.