Human papillomavirus testing for suspected cervical cancer patients from Southern Assam by fast-PCR

World-wide epidemiological studies have shown that cancer of the uterine cervix is the second most common malignant disease in women. Virtually every cervical cancer (99.7%) is HPV-positive, indicating that the presence of HPV is an obligatory element in their development. The present study was conducted by Fast-PCR (within 15 min.) based diagnosis of HPV 16 and HPV 18 infection amongst patients of suspected cervical cancer, confirmed by cytological methods. Twelve women, out of a total of fifty studied cases who had positive cervical pap smears (24%) were found to be positive for HPV 16/HPV 18 infection when PCR based technique was applied. The results indicate, perhaps, a greater specificity of PCR based diagnosis, or presence of other HPV subtypes as etiological factors in the present study group confined to Southern Assam.