engleski

Type distribution of human papillomaviruses in cervical samples of women with cytological abnormalities from Primorsko-Goranska county, Croatia

Objective: Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women. Most of the cases are caused by infection with HPVs. Certain HPV types have strong oncogenic potential and are considered high-risk (HRT), while certain are considered low-risk (LRT) since their infection results in formation of benign genital warts. Currently, two vaccines for the prevention of these infections are available. Two HRTs (16 and 18) included in vaccines are considered responsible for more than 2/3 of cases of cervical cancer. Several studies from Croatia reported that these two types are less frequent in our female population. Therefore, we decided to determine the HPV types in cervical samples of women with cytological abnormalities from Primorsko-Goranska County in Croatia. Methods: We have analyzed 108 consecutive HPV-positive samples of women with proven cytological abnormalities. Samples are processed in the Laboratory for Molecular Diagnostics of the Teaching Institute of Public Health of Primorsko-Goranska County, Rijeka, Croatia. They were analyzed by PCR method using commercial kits with electrophoretic detection: HPV6/11 ; HPV High Risk Screen ; and HPV High Risk Typing (Sacace Biotechnologies, Italy). The kits enable detection of LRTs HPV6 and 11 and HRTs HPV16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 52, 53, 56, 58, 59, 66 and 70. Results: 53 of 108 analyzed samples (49.1%) contained 1 type of HPV ; while more than 1 (up to 5) HPV types were detected in 51 samples (47.2%). In 4 samples (3.7%)the HRT detection was positive but the typing was not successful, so we considered them HRT positive, nontypeable. 4 samples (3.7%) contained only 1 LRT while all the other samples contained HRTs. The most frequent HRT was HPV16 that was detected in 33 samples (17.2%), followed by HPV31, 52 and 18 that were detected in 25 (13.0%), 21 (10.9%) and 18 (9.4%) samples, respectively. HPV16 and 18 that are considered responsible for more than 2/3 of cases of cervical cancer were found in 48 analyzed samples (44.4%). Conclusions: Most of the women with cytological abnormalities included in study were infected with HRTs (104 out of 108). HPV16 was the most commonly found, followed by HPV31, 52 and 18. The two HRTs covered by currently available HPV vaccines were detected in 44.4% of analyzed samples. This fact should be taken into account during planning of future preventive public health activities.

human papillomavirus; high risk typing

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