Human Papillomavirus Types and Cervical Cancer Vaccine for Sudanese Women: A Review

Abstract

Cervical cancer is thought to result from different high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) types. Although many studies have been conducted worldwide regarding HPV infection and its oncogenic properties, limited data are available on the incidence and genotype specific dissemination of HPV in Sudan. The purpose of this review article is to summarize the existing data regarding HPV genotypes in Sudan. To review the distribution of HPV infections, electronic databases (e.g. PubMed, and Google Scholar) were searched for peer reviewed articles in English. The study was performed between January and April of 2019 and comprises a review of six relevant articles that were published prior to 2013. Inclusion criteria included: availability of general population data, cytology and tissue results and the use of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for HPV detection. The overall infection rate of high-risk HPVs DNA was 173/506 (34%) and within the tissues ranged between 93 and 94% (all the paraffin sections were cancer and precancerous cases). The HPV genotyping in cervical smears were found to range from 2.9% to 50.0%, with the most prevalent types of HPV being 16 (2.9-50.0%), 18 (0-3.4%), 58 (2.9%), and 42 (2.9%). Familiarity of the frequent high risk HPV genotypes found in Sudan, which had a high prevalence of cervical cancer, is essential in order to construct an applicable genotype of the virus in the HPV vaccine. The commercially available vaccines do not prevent infection of the HPV types not contained in the vaccine. Based on this literature, it is clear that the nine-valent HPV vaccine should be considered in Sudan.