Difference in prevalence of human papillomavirus genotypes in cytomorphologically normal cervical smears is associated with a history of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia

✍ Scribed by Adriaan J. C. Van Den Brule; Jan M. M. Walboomers; Marc Du Maine; Peter Kenemans; Chris J. L. M. Meijer

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1991
• Tongue: French
• Weight: 584 KB
• Volume: 48
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0020-7136
• DOI: 10.1002/ijc.2910480317

✦ Synopsis

The prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) genotypes was investigated by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method in cytologically normal and abnormal cervical scrapes obtained from asymptomatic women (n = I ,346), participating in a triennial screening program for cervical cancer, and from a gynecological outpatient population (n = 593). In the symptom-free population oncogenic HPV types 16, 18,31 and 33 were present in I .5% of cytologically normal scrapes, while the overall HPV prevalence rate was 3.5%. Significantly, higher HPV prevalence rates of 7% (oncogenic HPV; p .-: 0.01) and 14% (all HPV; p O.Ol), respectively, were found in cytologically normal scrapes of the gynecologic outpatient population. It appeared that in this outpatient group 78% of the smears containing HPV I 6 and I 8 were associated with a history of cervical pathology, i.e. cervical intraepithelial neoplaria grade I to Ill. In smears with mild and severe dysplasia and smears suspected of carcinoma in situ from both populations, the overall HPV prevalence was 70%. 84% and 100%. respectively. In all squamous-cell carcinomas of the cervix (n = 50) HPV was detected. Frequencies of HPV 16 and 18 increased from 41% in mild dysplasia to 94% in cervical carcinomas. Since a low prevalence of HPV was found in cytomorphologically normal cervices of women without a clinicopathological history, the findings in this study suggest that HPV detection in population-based screening programs for cervical neoplasia can be an important tool in identifying women who are at risk of developing dysplasia and cervical cancer. KOPAC classification, briefly: Pap I, normal cells; Pap 11, inflammation; Pap III", mild and moderate dysplasia; Pap HIb, 3To whom correspondence and reprint requests should be addressed.