Abstract
BackgroundHigh risk human papillomaviruses (HPVs) have been unequivocally recognised as the necessary cause of squamous intraepithelial lesions (SIL) and invasive carcinoma of the cervix. The distribution and the role of unclassified risk HPV genotypes in cervical neoplasia has not been fully elucidated.MethodsLiquid-based cytological samples were collected from 337 women referred for colposcopy following an abnormal cytological diagnosis. HPV DNA was detected by broad-spectrum PCR and genotypes identified by nucleotide sequencing analysis and reverse line blot (RLB).ResultsThe overall frequency of HPV infection was 36.5% (35 out of 96) in samples negative for intraepithelial lesions or malignancy (NILM), 80% (181 out of 226) in low grade SIL and 93.3% (14 out of 15) in high grade SIL (P < 0.001). Thirty-five different genotypes were identified among the 230 HPV-positive cases. The Group 1 oncogenic viruses (HPV16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 56, 58 and 59) were found in 21.9, 46.5, and 86.7% of NILM, low grade SIL and high grade SIL, respectively. The Group 2A, including the probably oncogenic virus HPV68, was found in 1 and 0.8% of NILM and low grade SIL, respectively. The Group 2b possibly oncogenic HPVs (HPV34, 53, 66, 67, 70, 73, 82 and 85) were found in 4.2, 21.7 and 26.7% of NILM, low grade SIL and high grade SIL, respectively. The unclassified viruses (HPV12, 42, 54, 55, 61, 62, 81, 83, 84, 89, 90, 91) were detected in 8.3 and 14.6% of NILM and low grade SIL, respectively, and never in high grade SIL.ConclusionsGroup 1 HPVs were mainly prevalent in high grade SIL and low grade SIL while Group 2B were equally distributed among the two groups. The dominant frequency of unclassified HPVs in low grade SIL and NILM and their rarity in high grade SIL suggests their marginal role in cervical neoplasia of the studied population.
Highlights
High risk human papillomaviruses (HPVs) have been unequivocally recognised as the necessary cause of squamous intraepithelial lesions (SIL) and invasive carcinoma of the cervix
Some HPV genotypes belonging to the Groups 2A and 2B, namely HPV26, 67, 68, 69, 73 and 82, were found relatively common in invasive cervical cancer compared to normal cytology [2]
The study included 337 women with a mean age of 37.6 (± 10.9) years diagnosed with normal cytology (n = 96), low grade SIL (n = 226) and high grade SIL (n = 15)
Summary
High risk human papillomaviruses (HPVs) have been unequivocally recognised as the necessary cause of squamous intraepithelial lesions (SIL) and invasive carcinoma of the cervix. The oncogenic risk of mucosal HPVs has been established by large epidemiological studies investigating the different prevalence of specific genotypes in normal cytology, in low and high grade cervical intraepithelial lesions (SIL) and in cervical. A meta-analysis of HPV genotype distribution among 115,789 women positive for HPV infection, including normal cytology, atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS), low grade SIL, high grade SIL and invasive cervical cancer cases, showed limited difference in the prevalence of Group 1 HPV type distribution among all groups while HPV16, HPV18 and 45 were relatively high frequent in cervical carcinoma [7]. A large meta analysis, comprising above one million women with normal cervical cytology, showed that Group 1 HPV genotypes were found to be the most common viruses in the general female population worldwide, accounting for 70% of HPV infections in normal cytological samples [13]. Among viruses with unclassified risk the HPV61, 62, 84 and 89 have been found to be relatively uncommon in normal cytology and invasive cancer and more frequent in low grade SIL [2]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
