RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To determine the clinical importance of repeating the Hybrid Capture 2 (HC2) high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) test when the result obtained falls between 2.7 and 0.8 pg/mL, the so-called "grey zone." STUDY DESIGN: Repeat testing was performed on 139 thin-layer liquid-based cytology cervicovaginal samples that were found to fall in the grey zone. The samples represented a variety of cytological diagnoses. The results of both HPV HC2 tests were analyzed related to the cytological diagnosis of both the previous and the follow-up cytological samples. RESULTS: The change of the HPV HC2 result from positive (2.7-1 pg/mL) to negative (< 1 pg/mL) when repeating the test is not related with the diagnosis obtained in the cytological follow-up of the patient. CONCLUSION: The HC2 test should not be repeated when the result falls between 2.7 and 0.8 pg/mL. In these cases the result of the cytology is more relevant and should be used in the clinical assessment of the patient.