Human papillomavirus prevalence and genotypes in Gulf Cooperation Council countries: A scoping review 2017-2024

Cervical cancer remains a global health challenge, claiming the lives of millions annually and having a significant impact on Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Human papillomavirus (HPV), the primary causative agent, plays a central role, with regional variations in prevalence.¹ The process from HPV infection to neoplastic changes takes 5-25 years to occur, hence, knowing its prevalence in our community is vital.².

PubMed and SCOPUS were searched to identify articles related to cervical and anogenital HPV prevalence and genotypes in Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) published between 2017 and 2024.

A total of 19 articles were included in this review. Eight studies were from KSA, four were from Kuwait, three were from the UAE, one was from Qatar, Oman, and Bahrain, and one presented data collectively from the KSA, UAE, Qatar, and Bahrain. The prevalence of HPV ranged between 4.7% and 77% in studies from the KSA, between 15% and 54.3% in studies from Kuwait, between 14.7% and 88% in studies from the UAE, was 8.1% and 31.3% in the two studies from Qatar, and was 17.8% and 20% in the studies from Oman and Bahrain, respectively. HPV 16 was the most prevalent high-risk genotype found in studies conducted in the KSA, UAE, Kuwait, and Qatar. In Oman, HPV 82 predominated. In Bahrain, the majority had other non-HPV 16/18/45 genotypes. In the UAE and Kuwait, HPV 11 was the predominant low-risk type, followed by HPV 6. In Qatar, HPV 81 was the most common low-risk type, followed by HPV 11. In Oman, HPV 54 was the most common low-risk type, followed by HPV 42.

There are no studies with data on HPV prevalence and genotypes among women who have been vaccinated against HPV in GCC countries.