Work

Human papillomavirus genotypes in women with invasive cervical cancer with and without human immunodeficiency virus infection in Botswana

Year: 2019

Type: article

Abstract: Cervical cancer remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in women worldwide and is the leading cause of cancer‐related death in Botswana. It is well established that women with HIV have a higher risk of persistent HPV infection leading to cervical cancer. We assessed HPV prevalence and genotype distribution in 126 tissue specimens from confirmed invasive cervical cancer cases using Abbott real‐time PCR assay. Overall, 88 (69.8%) women were HIV‐infected. Fifty‐seven (64.8%) of the HIV‐infected women had a baseline CD4+ count ≥350 cells/μl, and 82 (93.2%) were on antiretroviral therapy at the time of cervical cancer diagnosis. The median age of HIV‐infected patients was significantly younger than that of HIV‐uninfected patients (p < 0.001). HPV DNA was detected in all of 126 (100%) of tissues analyzed in our study. The HPV genotypes identified included the HPV‐16 (75.4%), HPV‐18 (28.6%) and other high‐risk (hr) HPV genotypes (16.7%). HIV infection was positively associated with the presence of the HPV‐16 genotype (p = 0.036), but not with HPV‐18 or with other high‐risk (hr)‐HPV genotypes. Thirty‐three percent of the patients had multiple hr‐HPV genotypes, with higher rates in HIV‐infected women. These results highlight the importance and potential impact of large‐scale HPV vaccination programs covering HPV‐16 and HPV‐18 genotypes in countries like Botswana with high burden of HIV infection.

Source: International Journal of Cancer

DOI: 10.1002/ijc.32581