Objective: To establish the efficacy of single topical 85% trichloroacetic acid (TCA) treatment of the subclinical
Human papillomavirus (HPV) infections of the uterine cervix.
Methods: This is a retrospective study including patients with HPV infection of the uterine cervix established by
HPV DNA PCR assay. All the patients were treated with 85% TCA, applied topical and treatment response was
followed up by HPV DNA PCR assay in various groups of patients, two, three, four, six and twelve months after the
treatment with TCA. Remission was defined as complete clearance of HPV.
Results: In total, 173 patients with HPV specific type were included in the study. Unfortunately 70 patients didn’t
return for following check up after the treatment and in 103 patients follow up HPV DNA PCR was made, which
showed that 70 of them had complete HPV clearance. In addition, 68% and 33 patients were confirmed as positive,
32% and 10 of the HPV positive group still had the same type of HPV, 30% and 23 of them were typed with new
type of HPV, 70%.
Conclusion: A single treatment of topical TCA for subclinical HPV infections is associated with high HPV clearance,
especially two, three and four months after the treatment. The HPV clearance six and twelve months after the
treatment, decreases progressively. This gives us the right to think of TCA as an effective agent for subclinical
HPV infection treatment.
Key words: human papillomavirus, trichloroacetic acid, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, cervical cance
