Frequency of 23 human papillomavirus types using DNA microarray in women with and without cytological anomalies

To evaluate the frequency of single and multiple human papillomavirus (HPV) infections in women with and without cervical dysplasia.

An oligonucleotide microarray system was used to detect 19 types of high-risk HPV (HPV-16/-18/-311-33/-35/-39/-45/-51/ -52/-53/-56/-58/-59/-66/-68/-73/-821-16 variant E-E6-G350/-16 variant E-E6-T350) and 4 types of low-risk HPV (HPV-6/-11/ -42/-44) in 122 consecutive women visiting our colposcopy outpatient clinic classified into controls (normal epithelium, nonspecific cervicitis, metaplasia; n = 56) and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) (n = 66).

In 78/122 (64%) cervical samples, HPV DNA was detected. Compared to controls, HPV infection was significantly more prevalent among women with CIN (8/56 [14%] versus 49/66 [74%]; p = 0.001). HPV-18 and HPV-16 were the most common HPV types in all specimens (25% [31/122] and 25% [31/122], respectively). Of note, HPV-16 was significantly more frequent in women with CIN compared to controls (35% [23/66] vs. 14% [8/56], respectively; p = 0.02). Double HPV infections were detected in 16/122 (13%) and multiple infections in 43/122 (35%) women. Multiple HPV infections were found significantly more often among women with CIN compared to controls (30/66 [45%] vs. 13/56 [23%], respectively; p = 0.002). Using a univariate and multivariate logistic regression model to estimate the relative risk of CIN vs. HPV type, HPV-16-positive cases were found to have the highest risk of CIN (odds ratio [OR] 3.2; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.3-7.9; p = 0.002).

Multiple HPV infections are common in women with and without CIN, but significantly more prevalent among women with CIN compared to controls.