Assessing the performance and utility of targeted next-generation sequencing for screening and genotyping of human papillomaviruses

A next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based Ezplex HPV NGS kit (SML Genetree, Seoul, Korea) was used for human papillomavirus (HPV) screening. Of 885 cervical swab samples, HPV was detected in 162 samples. High-risk HPVs were detected in 82 samples, and other types of HPV were detected in 13 samples (HPV86, 71, 102, 91, and 114). At the read depth ≥ 500, NGS results exhibited 100 % agreement among repeated tests. HPV NGS results were compared with those of real-time PCR assays, Anyplex HPV28 (Seegene, Seoul, Korea) (n = 383) and Cobas HPV (Roche, Mannheim, Germany) (n = 64); concordances were 92.4 % and 95.0 %, respectively. Sanger sequencing of discordant results (n = 13) produced compatible results with those of HPV NGS. Pap smear abnormalities were detected in 31 patients (3.5 %), and 19 patients had high-risk HPV. Using HPV NGS for screening, rare HPV subtypes were detected, and quantitative values were obtained as read depth.