Yale Named HPV Center of Excellence

The Yale School of Medicine was designated as an "HPV Center of Excellence" in 2000 by the Digene Corporation, makers of the most sophisticated DNA tests for detecting the human papilloma virus (HPV). Yale’s Department of Pathology is among the first centers to adopt and offer the Hybrid Capture® II HPV Test, which aids physicians in identifying women at risk of having or developing HPV, the most common precursor to cervical cancer.

Dr. Janet Brandsma, Director of HPV Diagnostics at Yale, and Dr. Mary Chacho, Director of Cytology, introduced this test earlier this year, expanding the range of tests for cervical cancer available to women in the region. The FDA-approved test detects HPV infection of the cervix, which is the most important risk factor for cervical cancer in 95 percent of all cases. HPV is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections.

In women whose Pap smears contain atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS), a positive HPV test reveals risk of an underlying high-grade (pre-cancerous) lesion and that a biopsy should be obtained for definitive diagnosis. "A negative HPV test assures us that the risk of cervical cancer in the near future is very low. This eliminates the need for colposcopy and biopsy and patients can be followed conservatively," explained Peter Schwartz, MD, Chief of Gynecologic Oncology at Yale.

When detected at an early stage, cervical cancer is one of the most successfully treatable cancers with a 5-year survival rate of 91%. "In the near future, the HPV test may be used as a prognostic test for women with normal Pap tests, since the HPV infection precedes the development of a lesion," Dr. Schwartz added. Recent research indicates that women with high risk HPV and normal Pap smears have a 10 percent chance of developing a cervical lesion within two years.

For more information about the Yale HPV Center of Excellence, contact Dr. Peter Schwartz or Janet Brandsma, Ph.D.