Human papillomavirus prevalence and type-specific relative contribution in invasive cervical cancer specimens from Italy.
BACKGROUND
Cervical cancer represents an important global public health problem. It is the 2nd most common cancer among women worldwide. Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is now well-established as a necessary cause of invasive cervical cancer (ICC) development. Only a few studies on HPV prevalence and type-specific distribution in ICC have been conducted in Italy.


OBJECTIVE
To describe the prevalence of HPV and the HPV type-specific distribution in ICC cases identified in Rome, Italy.


METHODS
140 paraffin embedded tissue blocks of primary ICC diagnosed between 2001 and 2006 were identified at the Regina Elena Cancer Institute in Rome (Italy). HPV was detected through amplification of HPV DNA using SPF-10 HPV broad-spectrum primers followed by DEIA and then genotyping by LiPA25 (version 1).


RESULTS
134 cases were considered suitable for HPV DNA detection after histological evaluation; and overall, 90.3% (121/134) HPV prevalence was detected. 111 cases had a single HPV type, 4 cases had an uncharacterized type (HPVX) and 6 cases had multiple HPV infections. The five most common single HPV types among positive cases were: HPV16 (71/121; 58.7%), HPV18 (12/121; 9.9%), HPV31, HPV45 and HPV58 (5/121; 4.1% each). 2 (1.5%) of the single infections and 2 (1.5%) of the multiple infections contained low risk types. Statistically significant differences in the relative contribution of HPV18 were found when comparing squamous cell carcinomas with adenocarcinomas.


CONCLUSIONS
HPV16 and HPV18 accounted for almost 70% of all the HPV positive ICC cases. The study provides baseline information for further evaluation on the impact of recently introduced HPV vaccines in Italy.
Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Dept. Gynecologic Oncology, Roma, Italy. luciorm@libero.it
Luciano
L
Mariani
Núria
N
Monfulleda
Laia
L
Alemany
Enrico
E
Vizza
Ferdinando
F
Marandino
Amina
A
Vocaturo
Maria
M
Benevolo
Beatriz
B
Quirós
Belén
B
Lloveras
Jo Ellen
JE
Klaustermeier
Wim
W
Quint
Silvia
S
de Sanjosé
F Xavier
FX
Bosch
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005260:Female; D052162:Human papillomavirus 16 / Q000235:genetics; D052161:Human papillomavirus 18 / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D027383:Papillomaviridae / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D030361:Papillomavirus Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000821:virology*; D053918:Papillomavirus Vaccines / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016612:Paraffin Embedding; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015995:Prevalence; D011379:Prognosis; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000821:virology*; D055815:Young Adult
D004279:DNA, Viral; D053918:Papillomavirus Vaccines