Krebswissenschaft und -therapie

HPV Prevalence Rates among 18-60-Year-Old Women with Normal Pap Smear Visiting Gynaecology Clinics in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences

Abstract

Tajossadat Allameh, Farinaz Farahbod, Sharare Moghim and Zahra Allameh

Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer that occurs in women worldwide. In 2012 there were about 530,000 new cases reported of which about 270,000 were fatal. The fraction of these deaths that could be attributed to Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) was estimated to be 100 percent. Since the high-risk HPV virus causes cervical cancer, it is necessary to screen the population and eventually vaccinate against HPV. This is a descriptive crosssectional study conducted on 355 eighteen-to-sixty-year-old married women with normal Pap smear who visited the OB/GYN clinics of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. Specimens from cervix transformation zone and endocervical canal were obtained by cytobrush method; then cytology study was performed on them, DNA being extracted. The presence of HPV infection and its subtypes including HPV 16, 18, 6, and 11 were assessed by using polymerase chain reaction method. Ninety cases (25.35% of the cases) had positive HPV PCR. Among these positive samples, 15.56% were type 16; 13.33% were type 18; 21.11% were type 11 or 6, and 50% were of other types. Of all positive cases, 7.22% were carrying at least one of the high-risk type of the virus. Based on the high prevalence of this virus in this as well as other studies, it was specifically proven that types 16 and 18 are risk factors for premalignant and malignant lesions of cervix. Moreover, administration of Quadrivalent vaccine in prevention of cervical cancer is suggested for our population.