Frequency of Human papillomavirus in women attending cervical cancer screening program in Chile

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the etiological factor for cervical cancer and its precursor lesions. The characterization of HPV genotypes in preneoplastic lesions and cervical cancer could establishes the effectiveness of vaccination plan in Chilean population. The aim of this study was to determine HPV frequency in a group of women including in a cervical screening program in the public health care system in Chile.

We analyzed 985 cervical smears samples from women with different histological diagnosis, attending to public health care in Temuco-Chile between 2004 and 2012, to detect HPV genotypes, through PCR followed by reverse line blotting assay.

HPV was found present in 80.8% (n = 796) of samples. Only a 5.6% of 985 samples were infected with a low-risk HPV, considering multiple infections. 10.5% (n = 8/76) of normal cervical epithelia, 83.5% (n = 208/249) and 87.6% (n = 557/636) of low and high grade squamous intraepithelial lesions, respectively, and 95.8% (n = 23/24) of squamous cervical carcinomas tested positive for HPV. HPV 16 was the most frequent genotype found (Overall 44.9%, n = 442/985; SCC: 62.5%, n = 15/24). A high variability of HPV types was also found in preneoplastic lesions, whereas there was a selection of genotypes in neoplasia. Also, there was a higher risk of infection with HPV 16 in women ≤26 years and 34-41 years old (p < 0.05), meanwhile infections with HPV 16 or HPV 18 have related with cancer development (p < 0.01).

These data provide further information about the frequency of HPV genotypes in women with cervical lesions in Chile, and the introduction of new targeted vaccines against a wider spectrum of HPV is suggested.