TY - JOUR T1 - Age at Diagnosis of Preinvasive and Invasive Cervical Neoplasia in South Africa: HIV-Positive Versus HIV-Negative Women JF - International Journal of Gynecologic Cancer JO - Int J Gynecol Cancer SP - 363 LP - 366 DO - 10.1097/IGC.0b013e3182094d78 VL - 21 IS - 2 AU - Louis-Jacques Jean van Bogaert Y1 - 2011/01/01 UR - http://ijgc.bmj.com/content/21/2/363.abstract N2 - Hypothesis: Human immunodeficiency virus-positive women develop invasive cervical cancer at a significantly earlier age than seronegative women. It is hypothesized that this might result from shorter preinvasive stages.Methods: Prospective observational study of histologically diagnosed 398 low-grade (LGSIL), 738 high-grade intraepithelial lesions (HGSIL), and 1048 invasive cancers (IC) in a black South African population. The study comprised of 493 (22.6%) seropositive women and 1691 (77.4%) seronegative women who served as the controls. All were subdivided into 5-years age bands.Results: The mean age at diagnosis of LGSIL and HGSIL was similar in the cases (t = 0.7; P = 0.49) and the controls (t = 1.2; P = 0.22). The mean age at diagnosis of IC was significantly younger in the HIV-seropositive women than in the HIV-seronegative women (t = 14.0; P < 0.0001). The relative age distribution curves of LGSIL, HGSIL, and IC evolved close to each other in the cases. In the seronegative women, there was an 18-year lag between the peak age distribution of HGSIL and IC.Conclusion: Our data support the hypothesis of a shorter preinvasive stage in HIV-positive women. ER -