*2.1. Population*

All women aged between 25–61 years, scheduled to be conservatively treated for CIN2+ at the European Institute of Oncology (IEO), Milan, from January 2011 to June 2015, were enrolled. "Conservative treatment" included excisional procedures, such as Loop Electro-Excision Procedure (LEEP) and laser conization, and ablative procedures, such as laser vaporization, in cases of ectocervical lesion and no evidence of ICC at pretreatment colposcopic-guided biopsies. The study was approved by the Institutional Ethical Committee (IEO S544 study), and informed consent was obtained from all women at enrollment. A ThinPrep PreservCyt (Hologic, Inc. Bedford, MA, USA) cervical sample was collected in all patients before treatment and at the first follow-up visit planned at 6 ± 3 months after surgical treatment, in order to perform cytology, Qiagen Hybrid Capture 2 (HC2) and Roche Linear Array HPV Test (Linear Array). Roche Cobas® 4800 HPV Test (Cobas), Abbott RealTime High Risk HPV (RT), BD Onclarity HPV Assay (Onclarity), and Seegene Anyplex II HPV HR (Anyplex) test were carried out on a left-over aliquot. Hologic APTIMA mRNA assay (Aptima) has been performed placing an aliquot of Thin Prep sample in the Aptima storage liquid upon arrival in the laboratory. The results of histology at baseline and at relapse, when occurred, were available for all patients. Principal characteristics of all HPV tests are detailed in Table 1.


**Table 1.** HPV test features.
