3.1 | Flowchart of the expectant management
A total of 349 women with histologic LSIL (CIN1) preceded by AHPV-positive/normal or mildly abnormal cytology were included and completed 2-year follow-up visits at 6-month intervals (Figure S1). Twenty-five (25) women (7.2%) progressed to CIN2+ (including 15 with CIN2, 9 with CIN3, and 1 with AIS), 301 (86.2%) regressed, and 23 (6.6%) persisted during the 2-year follow-up. In accordance with the 2012 ASCCP guidelines,9 all women who progressed to CIN2+ were treated using a loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP) or cold knife conization (CKC), all women who persisted with histologic LSIL (CIN1) for 2 years were treated with LEEP surgery, and all women who were diagnosed with no lesion at the 2-year follow-up visit were assigned to routine screening.
3.2 | Participant characteristics and demographic information
The baseline characteristics of the women are presented in Table 1. The mean age of the 349 enrolled women was 39.3 ± 10.6 years and did not differ significantly between the 3 outcome groups (P > 0.05). There was a significant difference between the 3 outcome groups in terms of AHPV-GT positivity (P < 0.001). The AHPV-GT positivity in the progression group was 44.0% (11/25), which was significantly higher than that in the regression group (14.3% [43/301]) (P < 0.001) but slightly higher than that in the persistence group (17.4% [4/23]) (P > 0.05). There was no significant difference between the 3 outcome groups in terms of cytology results and age groups (both P > 0.05).