Investigation of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Frequency and Genotype Analysis in Cervical Samples

Abstract

Aim: Human Papillomaviruses (HPVs) are double-stranded DNA viruses belonging to the Papillomaviridae family. There is ample evidence demonstrating the association of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) with cervical carcinoma. This study aimed to investigate the presence of HPV DNA in cervical swab samples and determine the HPV genotypes in positive samples. Materials and Methods: The three-year results of cervical swab samples sent to the Medical Microbiology Laboratory of Afyonkarahisar Health Sciences University Faculty of Medicine Hospital for screening for HPV DNA presence between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2022, were retrospectively evaluated in this study. HPV genotyping was performed using the cobas 4800 (cobas® x480) fully automated system (Roche Diagnostics, Indianapolis, USA) for extraction, and the samples were analyzed using the Real-time PCR (cobas® z 480) system following the manufacturer's instructions. Results: HPV-DNA was detected in 415 out of a total of 4960 patients (8.4%), while 4545 (91.6%) tested negative. Evaluation of HPV positivity revealed that the highest positivity rates were observed in HR-HPV at 68%, HPV 16 at 17.3%, and HPV 16 combined with HR-HPV at 8.2%. HPV-DNA positivity was highest at 38% in the 35-44 age group, while it was lowest at 3.4% in patients under 25 years old. Conclusion: Vaccination programs, alongside screening programs, will serve to restrict the spread of infection in at-risk populations and prevent HPV-related cancers. It is believed that nationwide HPV DNA screening studies and vaccination programs targeting HPV infections will be highly effective in reducing the prevalence of cervical cancer.