Peculiarities of the vagina microbiome and functional activity of epithelial cells in cervical intraepithelial neoplasia of the cervix in women of perimenapausal age
Authors: Beniuk V.O. , Goncharenko V.M. , Laskava T.G. , Shcherba O.A. , Lastovetska L.D. , Nykoniuk T.R. , Maidannyk I.V. , Veretelnyk Ya.I. 
Published: September 2023

According to the data of the National Cancer Registry of Ukraine for 2021, the incidence of cervical cancer was 17.9 and the mortality rate was 7.9 per 100,000 female population. Therefore, in modern conditions, timely diagnosis, effective treatment and prevention of precancerous processes, which include cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) of the cervix, is one of the important tasks of a gynecologist. Women in perimenopause, who are traditionally considered to be at risk, deserve special attention.Today, there is information in the literature that multifactorial diseases account for 90–95% of all diseases, including cervical cancer. Epidemiological factors associated with human papillomavirus (HPV) prevalence are well known. The role of microbial-protozoan-viral associations in contributing to the occurrence of intraepithelial lesions and cervical cancer is being actively investigated.The objective: to assess the state of microbiocenosis and the functional activity of epithelial cells in perimenopausal women with recurrent CIN of the cervix.Materials and methods. 60 women of perimenopausal age with recurrent CIN of the cervix, which occurred after treatment with surgical methods (main group) and 38 healthy women of the appropriate age (control group) were examined. All patients were examined in accordance with the regulatory orders of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, immunological studies, as well as determination of the electrokinetic activity of epithelial cells of the vagina and cervix according to the method of V. I. Shakhbazov in modification of V. O. Beniuk and co-authors.Results. The data of the anamnesis and clinical examination of the patients were evaluated, which allows to identify a risk group among women of perimenopausal age, according to the development of recurrent CIN of the cervix. During the study of the species composition of the vaginal microbiome in patients of the main group, a decrease in the number or complete absence of lactobacilli, a predominance of opportunistic vaginal flora in the cases with HPV infection was established. Peptostreptococci were found in 46.7 %, corynebacterial – in 61.7%, epidermal staphylococcus – in 66.7%, gardnerella – in 53.3%, Candida spp. – in 46.7% of cases and some specific pathogens versus the control group (7.9%, 23.7%, 10.5%, 15.8%, 5.3%, respectively). Also, in the main group, a significant decrease in the level of interferon-α (IFN) by 1.6 and IFN-γ by 1.9 times in blood serum was found.Studies of the electrokinetic activity of the epithelial cells of the vagina and cervix revealed a decrease of more than 2 times the corresponding indicators in the main group compared to the control group.Conclusions. In perimenopausal women with recurrent CIN of the cervix, profound violations of the vaginal microbiocenosis with the predominance of opportunistic flora, as well as insufficiency of interferonogenesis, decreased functional activity of epithelial cells, were determined.In general, based on the results of this study and modern scientific data, it can be concluded that the association of HPV with a violation of the vaginal microbiome in the conditions of physiological menopausal changes significantly increases the risk of development and recurrence of cervical intraepithelial lesions in women. Therefore, the existing screening methods and modern management of diagnosis of CIN of the cervix are important for the provision of high-quality medical care.