title: Human papillomavirus screening in north Indian women.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the major etiological agent of cervical cancer, a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in women worldwide. Screening strategies for reducing the burden of HPV-mediated carcinogenesis are emerging as an effective means for cervical cancer control and prevention in developing countries. Our study, therefore, aimed to identify HPV infection status in North Indian women during random population screening.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cervical/vaginal exfoliated cells and/or Pap smear specimens were collected from 890 women of North Indian ethnicity residing in Lucknow and adjoining areas, during random population screening from June 2009-March 2012. HPV viral loads in clinical specimens were determined by the Hybrid Capture (hc)-2 HPV DNA assay, and subsequently, positive/negative/borderline HPV status was calculated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The HPV incidence in the present study was 11.7%. 751 out of a total of 890 women (84.4%) participating in our HPV screening program were HPV negative (HPV -), 104 (11.7%) tested positive (HPV +) while 35 (3.9%) showed borderline (HPV *) infection status. Furthermore, in the HPV + subjects (N=104), 18 (17.3%) showed strong positivity. We observed that HPV positivity tends to increase with age in North Indian women; the higher the viral load with increasing age, higher is the susceptibility to HPV-mediated cervical cancer.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  HPV viral load/genotyping may help in identifying women at risk of developing cervical cancer. However, cost- effective HPV screening protocols with a wider population coverage are warranted so as to reduce the burden of cervical cancer in women worldwide in the vaccine-era.
authors.affiliation: Krishna Medical Center, Lucknow, India.
authors.forename: Saumya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pandey
authors.forename: Malvika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mishra
authors.lastname: Chandrawati
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D052685:Alphapapillomavirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002584:Cervix Uteri / Q000821:virology; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008403:Mass Screening; D065006:Papanicolaou Test; D030361:Papillomavirus Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000821:virology; D014626:Vaginal Smears; D019562:Viral Load; D002578:Uterine Cervical Dysplasia / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000821:virology
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral