The Rare Condition of a Double Cervix: Results from the High-Risk Human Papillomavirus-Based Cervical Cancer Screening Program in the Lazio Region

Abstract

Precancerous and cancerous lesions of the uterine cervix are known to be associated with Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection. The screening of high-risk (HR)-HPV infection in the female population has led to the discovery of several cases of a double cervix, a congenital malformation that is very rare. The purpose of this study was to evaluate HR-HPV infections in women with a double cervix within the National Cervical Cancer Screening program of the Lazio region (Italy). From June 2021 to March 2024, a total of 142,437 samples were analyzed by Seegene’s Anyplex TM II HR-HPV method, which identifies 14 HR-HPV genotypes. For each woman identified with a double cervix, two separate samples were taken from both cervices and analyzed separately. Twenty-seven women with a double cervix were identified (0.019%): 23 women were tested as negative for both cervices, while the remaining four (namely A, B, C, and D) resulted positive. By genotyping, the following results were obtained: (A) Both samples showed genotype 31; (B) one cervix was negative while the other showed genotype 58; (C) one cervix was positive for HPV 18 and 31 while for 18, 31, and 33 in the other; and (D) one cervix showed genotype 66 while the other carried the 66 and 68 genotypes. Double cervix is a very rare condition where the presence of HR-HPV genotypes is not homogeneous. As already described, our study confirms that different genotypes can be detected in double cervix malformation, suggesting the need to perform HPV screening on brushing samples from both cervices.