Hi all,
In feb i had a smear which came back as cin1 changes and high risk hpv.
I had 1 punch biopsy at colposcopy because she saw a small area looking consistent with cin1/hpv changes.
After 3 and a half weeks i have kust received the results. It showed hpv changes only and no CIN.
Does anyone know what this means? I thought hpv changes were the same as CIN?
She advised my gp to put me on 3 yearly smears.
Should i still not be monitored more closely in case?
I am feeling relieved though. I am waiting for a scan because i still have persistent abdominal pain.
Thank you,
Limiya
Hi Limiya52,
HPV is the virus that can cause cells to change. CIN is the level of abnormality of the cells so you can have the HPV virus and no abnormal cells. The HPV virus is very common and a lot of the time we can be positive to the virus and it just goes away by itself. However, in some cases the virus hangs around and starts to cause cells to change on the cervix. Sometimes these can be minor changes (CIN1) and other times it can be more severe. I think CIN1 can also go away by itself but if its CIN2-3 then they do like to treat it to avoid it getting worse and developing into cancerous cells (however this usually takes on average 10 years).
In your case you are positive to HPV but there have been no changes to your cells which means you wont need treatment and your HPV could disappear naturally. They will then check you again in 3 years to see where you are then. You may be negative to HPV and therefore no cell changes, or still positive to HPV and maybe some cell changes, maybe not.
Hope that helps.
Thanks Lucindaw17,
So HPV changes means no changes at all to the cells? So the white part of my cervix she took a biopsy from was ... HPV and not cin? Even though CIN1 appeared on my smear?
I just find it confusing if they call it HPV changes but that means there are no cell changes?
LOL, yeah still battling a bit with my brain on this.
I will be worried until my next smear, wondering if it's worse etc. The joys of womahood. lol
Limiya52
Don't worry this is all new to me as well and I have been researching and googling the shit out of this haha.
HPV can either be positive or negative. If you are HPV negative then it would usually mean your cells are normal. If you are HPV positive you can still have no abnormal cells, but the HPV Virus causes cells to start changing - making them abnormal. CIN1 is the lowest level changes which means yes you are positive to the HPV virus but its only caused some slight cell changes on your cervix. A lot of the time these cell changes regress, which means they just go back to normal without treatment and the HPV virus can clear - which means your next pap smear would be normal. In some cases, the HPV virus might not clear and these CIN1 cells may become more abnormal, however - on average it takes 10 years for the cell changes to progress to cancer which is why they think its safe for you not to have another smear for 3 years. If you do have any symptoms you may be worried about in the 3 year period, such as bleeding after sex, or between periods, then you are welcome to go get another smear in the meantime otherwise you can just wait.
However, in your case - your smear indicated CIN1 but your biopsy showed no CIN which means yes you are HPV positive but this has not caused any of your cells to be abnormal. The smear is a screening tool - not a diagnostic so its indicating what may be there on the cervix but the colposcopy and biopsy are diagnostic tools and so show the true nature of the cervix- which for you was no abnormal cells. For example; my smear indicated early stages of cervical cancer (obviously I was extremely upset and shocked about this) but my GP kept saying this is only a screening tool, not diagnostic so wait for the colposcopy and when I had the colposcopy and biopsy it only showed CIN3 and the Gyno said this is the diagnostic test and the smear was wrong in its indication.
Hope that makes sense!
That makes sense thanks. I think it was the definition of HPV changes as compared to CIN cells. I didn't know what HPV changes meant if it wasn't CIN. I was told i had high risk HPV so that's possibly why the changes are there.
The good thing is my GP is referring me for bloody tests and scans to try and find the source of my abdominal/pelvic pain so if it's not this, then it must be something else. (shrugs).
Thanks a lot for your explanations, it's really helpful.
Limiya
