Cervical Cancer Screening, HPV Vaccination Lacking In SLE | ACR Convergence
Systemic lupus erythematosus is associated with a higher risk of cervical dysplasia due to the inflammatory nature of the disease.
Women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) may be screened for cervical cancer and vaccinated against human papillomavirus (HPV) at lower rates compared to the national average, according to research presented at ACR Convergence 2024.1
Systemic lupus erythematosus is associated with a higher risk of cervical dysplasia due to the inflammatory nature of the disease. | Image Credit: stock.adobe.com
According to previous research, women with SLE have an increased incidence of cervical dysplasia and cervical cancer due to the inflammatory nature of their disease, the use of immunosuppressive medications to treat it, and increased prevalence of HPV infection.
Based on current United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) guidelines, cervical cancer screening for women aged 21 to 65 years should take place at intervals of 3 to 5 years, based on age and HPV co-testing. In the current study, researchers set out to evaluate the percentage of women with SLE at a single-system health center in California who underwent documented cervical cancer screening according to these national guidelines. Researchers additionally sought to determine rates of HPV vaccination in this patient population.
Women diagnosed with SLE between 2019 and 2024 who had a primary care provider at 1 of 14 clinic locations within the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) health system. A total of 614 patients were included in the final analysis.
READ MORE: HPV Vaccine Reduces Risk of Infection-Related Cancers
Within this cohort, 57.2% of patients received age-appropriate cervical cancer screening—lower than estimates of all women nationally based on USPSTF guidelines, with a screening rate of 72.4%. Among the 351 patients who were appropriately screened, 6.3% had cervical dysplasia. Only 3.7% of patients had ever received at least 1 HPV vaccine.
“The current national average for cervical cancer screening is already suboptimal, and it becomes even more concerning for SLE patients due to. Their elevated risk for cervical dysplasia and cancer,” the researchers wrote. “One potential obstacle is a lack of sufficient education about the link between these disease states and the risk of cervical cancer.”
“We suggest a proactive role…in educating both patients and primary care providers on this important topic,” they concluded.
READ MORE: Women’s Health Resource Center
