Human papillomavirus infection following radiation therapy or concurrent chemoradiation for invasive cervical cancer

To determine the prevalence of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection in patients with invasive cervical cancer after treatment by concurrent chemoradiation therapy.

Cervicovaginal mucous samples were collected from fifty-five patients with invasive cervical cancer two months after treatment completion and tested for HPV genotypes.

Of the 55 patients, 31 (56.36%) were found to be positive for HPV among these 25 (45.46%) were positive for high-risk HPV. The most common high-risk HPV found was type 16 which accounted for 35.48% (11/31) of cases. Other high-risk HPV found were types 18 (16.13%), 52 (16.13%) and 58 (12.90%). Follow-up time for patients were 3 to 22 months with mean follow-up of 13 months. In patients positive for high-risk HPV 24.00% (6/25) were found to have persistent or recurrent disease. While 30 patients negative for high-risk HPV 3.33% (1/30) were found to have persistent or recurrent disease.

The prevalence of HPV infection in cervical cancer patients with positive high-risk HPV after treatment by radiation or concurrent chemoradiation seems to be a risk factor for persistent and recurrent disease. Testing for high-risk HPV may be a useful modality for follow-up of these patients.