Background: Based on epidemiological data, infections with specific types of HPV can be classified as high-risk (HR), low-risk (LR) or intermediate-risk (IR) HPV depending on the risk of progression to cervical cancer.
Case: A 70-year-old woman consulted for relapse of abnormal cytology with high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) associated with HPV-83 infection. Histological examination demonstrated high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN III) with strong and diffuse staining by the P16(INK4a)-specific antibody.
Conclusion: This patient's intermediate-risk HPV infection (HPV-83) rapidly progressed to severe cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN III) with strong anti-P16(INK4a) immunolabelling. Analysis of the E6 peptide sequence revealed several mutations in one of the two putative zinc finger regions (AA residues 107-135) associated with p53 binding.