Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 29, 2026
RNAscope for In situ Detection of Transcriptionally Active Human Papillomavirus in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Published on: March 11, 2014
High-risk human papillomavirus type does not predict grade of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia
M F Evans1, S L Mount, P M Vacek
1Department of Pathology, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405, USA.
Purpose Of Investigation:
The aim of this study was to examine whether HPV testing specificity for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) grades 2 or 3 could be improved by restricting the range of HPV types classified as 'high-risk'.
Methods:
DNA was extracted from 28 CIN I, nine CIN II and 13 CIN III formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded biopsies. HPV type was determined by General Primer mediated 5+/6+ PCR assay.
Results:
The prevalence of specific HPV types among the different grades of CIN and the relationship to the referral smear diagnosis was examined. HPV type-16 alone was more highly associated with CIN grade (p < 0.0001; Specificity = 0.93; Sensitivity = 0.68) than was the group of HPV types collectively classed as high-risk (p = 0.025; Specificity = 0.23; Sensitivity = 1.00).
Conclusions:
These data suggest HPV testing specificity could be improved simply by including a separate test for HPV-16. In conjunction with previous studies, the data also suggests redefinition of the high-risk HPV category to take into account the differing degrees of oncogenicity of high-risk HPV types.
