AOS4 Detection of human papillomavirus DNA in patients with different cervical lesions in Kurdistan region, Iraq

Abstract

Background Human papillomavirus (HPV) is documented to be a causative agent of cervical cancer and detection rates of more than 90% were registered in some parts of the world. This study was undertaken to introduce polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for diagnosing HPV infection in women with different cervical lesions for the first time in Kurdistan region and to define the most prevalent high-risk (HR) genotypes (HR HPV). Methods Eighty women (aged 25–70 years) with different cervical lesions, cytologically classified as ASC-US ( n =20), CINI ( n =30), CINII-III ( n =16), and cervical carcinoma ( n =14) and 20 healthy individuals (control group) were enroled in this study. PCR screening kits were used to extract the entire genomic DNA from cervical cells scraped from cases and then PCR HR HPV genotyping kits were used to test the positive samples. Findings HPV DNA was detected at an estimated rate of 17.5% in the cases but was absent in the control group. In the cases, the detection rate of HPV DNA was 1.25% (1 of 20), 3.75% (3 of 30), 5.0% (4 of 16), and 7.5% (6 of 14) in the cytological categories ASC-US, LSIL (CIN-I), HSIL (CIN-II–III), and cervical cancer, respectively. Moreover, the results of this study showed the detection of seven HR HPVs 16, 52, 56, 35, 45, 39, and 33 at frequency rates of 28.4%, 21.4%, 14.3%, 14.3%, 7.1%, 7.1%, and 7.1%, respectively. Therefore, HPV 16 was the most commonly detected HR HPV genotype among the positive cases (28.4%). Interpretation This is the first PCR study done in the Kurdistan region. The detected rate of HPV DNA (17.5%) in this region verifies the use of PCR. Moreover, the detected rate of HPV infection correlated with the severity of the cytological findings and HPV 16 was the most commonly detected HR genotype among positive cases (28.4%). Knowing the rate of HPV infections and the HR genotypes are of utmost importance for HPV vaccine introduction, which is not yet scheduled in this region and other parts of Iraq. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.