HPV Trends and Genotypes in Chilean and Immigrant Women: 10-Year Surveillance Study (2014-2023)

Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide. In Chile, 13,093 women died from cervical cancer between 2002 and 2022, making it the second leading cause of death for women aged 25 to 64, after breast cancer. Since 2019, Chile has been promoting molecular-based HPV screening to reduce cervical cancer incidence and mortality.

To describe the prevalence, genotypic distribution, and temporal trends of HPV in Chilean and immigrant women based on a 10-year surveillance program conducted from 2014 to 2023.

During the study period, 8,324 samples were collected from 7,410 Chilean and 908 foreing women aged 25 to 64 in five primary care centers in Santiago. HPV DNA of cervical smears were amplified by qPCR. Genotyping was performed by PCR-RLB and Sanger sequencing.

HPV was detected in 17.06% of Chilean and 23.11% of foreign women, with infection rates increasing over the 10-year period. The highest positivity rate was observed in the 25-34 age group for Chilean (23.82%) and for foreign (29.26%) women. The most frequent High-Risk genotypes were HPV-16, HPV-31, and HPV-59 in Chilean women; and HPV-16, HPV-58, and HPV-66 in foreign women. Low-Risk genotypes increased with age, being more prevalent in immigrants (55.30%) than in Chilean women (42.46%).

HPV infection rates have been increasing over time. HR genotypes different than HPV-16/18 were the most common, followed by HPV-16. This information is crucial for HPV surveillance, evaluation of vaccination programs, and prevention of cervical cancer in Chile.