{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,20]],"date-time":"2026-04-20T05:52:27Z","timestamp":1776664347161,"version":"3.51.2"},"reference-count":11,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,20]],"date-time":"2026-04-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1776643200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Med."],"abstract":"\n Background<\/jats:title>\n Cervical ectopy is a common physiological condition in women of reproductive age and may be associated with symptoms such as vaginal discharge, postcoital bleeding, dyspareunia, and pelvic pain. While ablative treatments are frequently used in symptomatic cases, interest in non-ablative approaches has increased. This study evaluated clinical and epithelial changes following vaginal hyaluronic acid therapy in women with symptomatic cervical ectopy.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Methods<\/jats:title>\n This prospective observational study included 121 women diagnosed with symptomatic benign cervical ectopy. All participants received hyaluronic acid vaginal ovules (Cicatridine) once daily for 14\u202fdays. Follow-up was performed at 4\u202fweeks, 8\u202fweeks, and 3\u202fmonths after treatment. Epithelial transformation was assessed by quantifying the extent of columnar epithelium during speculum examination. Temporal changes were analyzed using repeated-measures ANOVA.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Results<\/jats:title>\n \n The mean epithelial transformation rate increased progressively from 61.5%\u202f\u00b1\u202f19.8 at 4 weeks to 74.6%\u202f\u00b1\u202f21.2 at 8\u202fweeks and 82.9%\u202f\u00b1\u202f20.4 at 3\u202fmonths (\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f&lt;\u202f0.001). Clinical follow-up notes suggested a trend toward symptom relief; however, symptom change was recorded descriptively without a validated scoring instrument.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n Vaginal hyaluronic acid therapy was associated with progressive epithelial transformation in women with symptomatic cervical ectopy, with descriptively observed symptom relief. However, because of the observational design, absence of a control group, and non-standardized symptom assessment, these findings should be interpreted as exploratory. Further randomized controlled trials are required to determine clinical effectiveness.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fmed.2026.1832997","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,20]],"date-time":"2026-04-20T05:23:36Z","timestamp":1776662616000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Clinical changes in symptomatic cervical ectopy following vaginal hyaluronic acid therapy"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Orhan","family":"Yanar","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The Nev Hospital","place":["\u015eanl\u0131urfa, T\u00fcrkiye"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Sad\u0131k Orhun","family":"Akta\u015f","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Etimesgut Martyr Sait Ert\u00fcrk State Hospital","place":["Ankara, T\u00fcrkiye"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Serap","family":"Simavl\u0131","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, \u00dcsk\u00fcdar University","place":["Istanbul, T\u00fcrkiye"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Y\u00fcksel","family":"Onaran","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Turkish Ministry of Health, Ankara Bilkent City Hospital","place":["Ankara, T\u00fcrkiye"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"\u00d6mer Hayri","family":"Yal\u0131nkaya","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, D\u00fcnyapark Hospital","place":["Diyarbak\u0131r, T\u00fcrkiye"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","volume-title":"StatPearls","author":"Aggarwal","year":"2023"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"748","DOI":"10.1136\/bmj.1.6115.748","article-title":"Epidemiology and clinical significance of cervical erosion in women attending a family planning clinic","volume":"1","author":"Goldacre","year":"1978","journal-title":"Br Med J"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"8","DOI":"10.1159\/000441433","article-title":"Is cryotherapy friend or Foe for symptomatic cervical ectopy?","volume":"25","author":"\u00c7ekmez","year":"2016","journal-title":"Med Princ Pract"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"322","DOI":"10.5001\/omj.2019.63","article-title":"Cryotherapy as a method for relieving symptoms of cervical ectopy: a randomized clinical trial","volume":"34","author":"Agah","year":"2019","journal-title":"Oman Med J"},{"key":"ref5","first-page":"711","article-title":"Complications of cervical cryotherapy in adolescents","volume":"36","author":"Hillard","year":"1991","journal-title":"J Reprod Med"},{"key":"ref6","first-page":"78","article-title":"Hyaluronic acid in inflammation and tissue regeneration","volume":"28","author":"Litwiniuk","year":"2016","journal-title":"Wounds"},{"key":"ref7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"701","DOI":"10.3390\/polym10070701","article-title":"Hyaluronic acid in the third Millennium","volume":"10","author":"Fallacara","year":"2018","journal-title":"Polymers"},{"key":"ref8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"65","DOI":"10.12892\/ejgo201101065","article-title":"The effect of hyaluronic acid (Cicatridine) on healing and regeneration of the uterine cervix and vagina and vulvar dystrophy therapy","volume":"32","author":"Markowska","year":"2011","journal-title":"Eur J Gynaecol Oncol"},{"key":"ref9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"54","DOI":"10.3892\/br.2023.1618","article-title":"Real-world study of Cerviron vaginal ovules in the treatment of cervical lesions of various etiologies","volume":"19","author":"Petre","year":"2023","journal-title":"Biomed Rep"},{"key":"ref10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"815","DOI":"10.1080\/01443615.2020.1803243","article-title":"The impact of cryotherapy for symptomatic cervical ectropion on female sexual function and quality of life","volume":"41","author":"Yildiz","year":"2021","journal-title":"J Obstet Gynaecol"},{"key":"ref11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"727","DOI":"10.1002\/ijgo.15458","article-title":"Could tranexamic acid be a suitable alternative to cryotherapy for symptomatic cervical ectopy? Results from a randomized clinical trial","volume":"166","author":"Tofighi","year":"2024","journal-title":"Int J Gynaecol Obstet"}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Medicine"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fmed.2026.1832997\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,20]],"date-time":"2026-04-20T05:23:37Z","timestamp":1776662617000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fmed.2026.1832997\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,20]]},"references-count":11,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fmed.2026.1832997"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fmed.2026.1832997","relation":{},"ISSN":["2296-858X"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2296-858X","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,20]]},"article-number":"1832997"}}