High-Risk HPV Genotype Distribution According to Cervical Cytology and Age

A retrospective study of a single laboratory's results from patients in the United States to investigate high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) genotype distribution according to cervical cytology and age was performed.

Anonymous results of 23 580 patients' cervical specimens sent to Medical Diagnostic Laboratories, LLC, for cervical cytology and HPV testing between August 2020 and August 2021 were analyzed.

Overall, any of the 14 high-risk HPV genotypes identified were detected in 2302 of the 23 580 patients (9.8%), with HPV 52 (1.4%), HPV 39 (1.3%), HPV 51 (1.3%), and HPV 16 (1.2%) being the most frequent in all patients. Multiple high-risk HPV infection was observed in 1.3% of all patients. HPV 16 was most likely to be a single high-risk genotype detected as compared with detection with other high-risk HPV genotypes, in contrast to HPV 33, which is least likely to be a single high-risk genotype detected as compared with detection with other high-risk HPV genotypes. High-risk HPV detection was greatest in patients under 25 years old (<21-year-olds, 24.6%, and 21-25-year-olds, 25.4%). In patients with low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions, the most frequently detected high-risk HPV genotypes were HPV 51 (10.5%) and HPV 39 (9.1%), and in patients with high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions, the most frequently detected high-risk HPV genotypes were HPV 16 (25.6%) and HPV 52 (17.1%).

HPV genotyping and cervical cytology data analysis may contribute to and inform cervical cancer screening and HPV vaccination programs.