Detection of pre-cervical cancer and its associated factors among cervical cancer suspected women in Bichena primary hospital in Amhara region, Ethiopia

Purpose This study aimed to assess the prevalence of Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, precervical cancer and its associated factors among women suspected of cervical cancer (CC) at Bichena Primary Hospital in the Amhara region, Ethiopia. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted at Bichena Primary Hospital from January 2020 to June 2021. A total of 385 women suspected of CC were participated in this study. HPV infection was detected using the OncoE6™ Cervical test for HPV 16/18 antigens, and Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid (VIA) was used for precervical cancer detection. Additionally, a semi-structured questionnaire was also used to collect socio-demographic and clinical information. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23, and logistic regression was employing for analysing assocations between independent and dependent variables.Finally, the findings were presented in texts and tables. Results The overall prevalence of oncogenic HPV (HPV16/18) was 6.2% [95%, CI: 3.9–9.1], while VIA positivity was 3.6% [95%, CI: 2.1–5.7]. Multivariate logistic regression identified several significant predictors of precervical cancer due to HPV infection: age over fifty (AOR [95% CI = 1.65–191.8]), primary education (AOR [95% CI = 1.81–83.1]), early age at first sexual intercourse (AOR [95% CI = 1.04–22.01]), parity (three or more) (AOR [95% CI = 2.03–99.9]), history of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) (AOR [95% CI = 1.39–45.25]), and HIV/AIDS (AOR [95% CI = 1.6-44.29]). Early age at first sexual intercourse and history of STIs were associated factors for VIA positivity (P < 0.05). Conclusions HPV infection contributes significantly to CC in the study area, emphasizing its public health impact. Early sexual intercourse emerged as an independent predictor of VIA positivity and CC. As a result, to mitigate the risk of CC: early screening, treatment, and vaccination of high-risk groups of women for HPV infection are recommended.