Viral load of human papillomavirus in women with normal and abnormal cervical cytology in Kuwait

Rana Al-Awadhi,Eyad Al-Saleh,Waleed Al-Jassar,Wassim Chehadeh,Jehad Al-Harmi,Kusum Kapila

doi:10.3855/jidc.2748

Rana Al-Awadhi, Eyad Al-Saleh + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3855/jidc.2748

Copy DOI

Abstract

Human papillomaviruses (HPV) are the most commonly known sexually transmitted agents. Almost all cases of cervical cancer are caused by persistent infection. This study was conducted to ascertain whether there is a difference in HPV load in cervical samples with normal and abnormal cervical cytology reports in Kuwait. HPV-positive abnormal ThinPrep samples (n = 206) and normal ThinPrep samples (n = 120) were taken from women attending gynecology clinics. Real-time PCR was used to measure the viral load for all HPV genotypes. The median normalized viral load in samples with normal and abnormal cytology reports was 0.86 × 10-7 and 4.66 × 10-7, respectively (p = 0.001). Median normalized viral load of high-risk (HR), intermediate-risk (IR) and low-risk (LR) HPV was 4.04 × 10-7, 0.71 × 10-7 and 2.38 × 10-7, respectively, (p = 0.002). The findings suggest that, in the absence of a proper screening programme in Kuwait, quantification of HPV viral load could be considered as a surrogate virology test to identify women with abnormal cytology. Further population-based prospective studies are needed to include more women with high-grade and invasive carcinoma reports.

Highlights

Human papillomaviruses (HPV) are the most commonly known sexually transmitted agents
The findings suggest that, in the absence of a proper screening programme in Kuwait, quantification of HPV viral load could be considered as a surrogate virology test to identify women with abnormal cytology
Analysis of the results showed that the median normalized viral load in samples with normal cytology reports was significantly lower (p = 0.001) than the normalized viral load in samples with abnormal cytology reports

Summary

Introduction

Human papillomaviruses (HPV) are the most commonly known sexually transmitted agents. There are more than 100 recognized HPV genotypes, of which approximately 40 have tropism for anogenital mucosa [2]. Based on their epidemiological association with cervical cancer, anogenital HPV genotypes are divided into high-risk (HR) and low-risk (LR) types [3]. Almost all cases of cervical cancer are caused by persistent infection involving 15 genotypes of the HR HPV [4]. Another study has reported the presence of HPV DNA in 2.4% of normal cervical samples; LR HPV types were found in 71.8% of infected samples, HR types in 32.3%, and intermediate-risk (IR) types in 7% [8]. HR and LR-HPV genotypes were prevalent in women at the age of 40 and older [9]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion