A single-institutional retrospective analysis of related factors for vaginal intraepithelial neoplasia

Abstract Background To date, there are only a few studies on the related factors of vaginal intraepithelial neoplasia (VaIN). This study analyzes the features of VaIN and identify underlying risk factors. Methods Patients with histologically confirmed VaIN at the Industrial Street Branch of Chengdu Women’s and Children’s Central Hospital from July 2020 to December 2021 were objectively identified. We used the baseline clinical characteristics, human papillomavirus (HPV), cytology, and pathology of the cases enrolled for statistical analysis. Results A total of 62 patients with VaIN (mean age: 39.06 ± 11.66 years; range: 19–69 years) were included, with 16 patients having cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) complications. Synchronous CIN was identified in 46 (74.2%) patients. Except for one patient with vulvar itching, almost all patients were asymptomatic. The most common cytological abnormalities among women were atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASC-US) (59.5%) and low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSIL) (21.6%). Abnormalities occurred in six (37.5%) out of 16 patients with VaIN only and in 31 (67.4%) out of 46 patients with concurrent CIN (P = 0.0358). Additionally, 60 (96.8%) patients developed HPV infection. The most prevalent HPV genotypes were HPV16 in patients with VaIN alone and both HPV58 and HPV16 in patients with concurrent CIN. Conclusions Attention should be paid to HPV16- and HPV58-positive patients with cytological abnormalities such as ASC-US and LSIL (especially concurrent CIN) to avoid misdiagnosis or underdiagnosis and to facilitate early interventions for VaIN.