High-risk Human Papillomavirus (hrHPV) Prevalence and Genotype Distribution among Turkish Women

This study aimed to determine the rates of distribution of high-risk HPV (hrHPV) genotypes according to cervical smear samples and biopsy results in a large sample of Turkish women.

The study was conducted with 4,503 healthy volunteer women aged 19-65 years. Samples of cervical smears were collected during the examination and liquid-based cytology was used for the Pap tests. The Bethesda system was used for reporting the cytology. High-risk HPV genotypes including HPV16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 56, 58, 59, 66, and 68 were investigated in samples. The study cohort was grouped according to age in decades, with comparisons made according to these age groups, Bethesda class, and cervix biopsy results.

Among all cases, 903 (20.1%) participants were positive for 1074 hrHPV-DNA genotypes. HPV-DNA positive cases were most common in the 30-39 age group (28.0%), followed by women under the age of 30 (38.5%). HPV genotypes were determined as, in order of frequency: Other hrHPV (n = 590, 65.3%), HPV16 (n = 127, 14.1%), Other HPV + HPV16 (n = 109, 12.1%), HPV 18 (n = 33, 3.6%), and Other HPV + HPV 18 (n = 32, 3.5%). Cervical smears were reported as ASCUS in 304 (6.8%) samples and high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL) in 12 (0.3%) of the samples. Biopsy demonstrated the presence of HSIL in 110 (12.5%) participants, with 644 (73.3%) negative cases.

This showed an increasing incidence of Other HPVs besides the known importance of HPV 16 and 18 genotypes as risk factors for cervical cancer.