Abstract
In this study, the thoracico-abdominal infrared thermographic characteristics of patients with cervical human papillomavirus (HPV) infection were investigated. The observation group comprised 68 cervical HPV-positive patients who visited the Department of Gynecology at Dongzhimen Hospital between August 2023 and December 2024. A control group consisting of 65 cervical HPV-negative women who underwent physical examinations at the hospital’s health examination center during the same period was established. Infrared thermal imaging equipment was utilized to capture thoracico-abdominal infrared thermograms from all participants. The images exhibited a discernible thermal structural disorder in the observation group. The mean temperatures of the regions of interest (ROIs) in the infrared thermograms were extracted for both groups and analyzed statistically using SPSS 25.0. The results indicated that, compared with the control group, the observation group exhibited a characteristic elevation in lower abdominal temperature, which was particularly pronounced in the lower left abdomen (P < 0.05). These findings suggest that infrared thermal imaging of the thorax and abdomen in patients with high-risk HPV (HR-HPV) cervical infection reveals a characteristic increase in lower abdominal temperature. Registry: Ethics Committee of Beijing Dongzhimen Hospital, TRN: 2023DZMEC-370-03, Registration date: 28 August 2023.
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The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study can be obtained from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. All the authors have been confirmed to have full access to the data and to take full responsibility for its integrity and accuracy.
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Funding
This paper represents a phase-specific outcome of the national natural science research project titled “Study on the Mechanism of Heat-Clearing and Dampness-Eliminating Method in Regulating Proteins in HPV-Positive Cervical Cancer Cells via ERK and p38/MAPK Signaling Pathways” (project no. 81774360).
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X.L. and L.S. designed the study and drafted the manuscript. X.C. and M.Z. collected and analyzed the data. M.Q. and X.W. contributed to the interpretation of the results. W.Z. and X.M. supervised the entire study and ensured that the descriptions were accurate and agreed upon by all the authors.
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Li, X., Sun, L., Qiu, M. et al. Investigation of thoracico-abdominal infrared thermal imaging characteristics in patients with cervical HR-HPV infection. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-35261-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-35261-7
