Abstract
This study evaluates the pre-vaccination prevalence of HPV infection in women from Vojvodina, Serbia, according to age and cytological status. A total of 1,495 women, ranging from 18 to 65 years of age, with different cytological results were enrolled. The HPV genotyping assay was performed using the EUROArray HPV test in order to detect thirty genitally relevant HPV subtypes. In our study, the most prevalent genotypeswere HPV 16, 31, 51, and 53. Among these, HPV 16 was consistently present in all cytological subgroups. Twelve HPV genotypes classified as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1) were detected in 77.8.0% of HSIL/ASCH and 55.0% of NILM with abnormal colposcopy findings. Six possible carcinogens—HRs (group 2B) were often found in women with normal cytology (14.8%) and mild abnormalities (ASCUS and LSIL), but with lower frequence in HSIL/ASCH lesions (7.1%). HPVs 6 and 11(Group 3) were not found in the cases of HSIL/ASCH. Unclassified HPV types were equally distributed in all cytology groups: 20.7%, 19.1%, 16.3% and 13% of NILM, ASCUS, LSIL and HSIL/ASCH, respectively. Our findings highlight that majority of abnormal Pap test results are caused by Group 1 HPVs among women from our region. Low frequency HPVs of group 2A/2B, especially HSIL/ASCH, supports the conclusion that individual genotypes require consideration of each type as an individual agent. We expect a positive impact of HPV vaccine in reducing HPV-associated cervical lesions among women from Vojvodina province, after establishing vaccination programs in our country.
Highlights
More than 200 human papillomaviruses (HPVs) genotypes have been molecularly characterized to this day, while only a small fraction of them has the potential to induce malignant transformation of human cells
Significant univariate odds ratio was found for HPV status in group of age 25–34, and in group that had two lifetime sexual partners
All of genotypes covered by EUROArray HPV test were identified in study population and the five most prevalent HPV genotypes were HPV 16 (30.6%), HPV 31 (15.0%), HPV 42 (13.0%), HPV 53(11.7%) and HPV 51 (9.1%)
Summary
More than 200 human papillomaviruses (HPVs) genotypes have been molecularly characterized to this day, while only a small fraction of them has the potential to induce malignant transformation of human cells. O., Belgrade, Serbia provided support in the form of salary for author MP. The specific roles of these authors are articulated in the ‘author contributions’ section. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript
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