[A study on the relationship between human papillomavirus and the incidence of cervical carcinoma]

To determine the relationship between the infection by human papillomavirus (HPV) and the incidence of cervical carcinoma.

Biopsy and paraffin wax embedded specimens (n = 99) from various cervical lesions in the department of gynecologic oncology were analysed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique with multiple primers of HPV types 6b/11, 16 and 18.

Of 99 cervical specimens investigated, 20 were histopathologically diagnosed as cervical condyloma, 18 as cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) grade 1 approximately 2 (CIN1 approximately 2), 20 as CIN grade 3 (CIN3), 23 as cervical cancer and 18 as normal controls. Detection for HPV revealed that the positive rates of the five different groups were 85.0%, 83.3%, 80.0%, 87.0% and 27.8%, respectively. Those of the cervical lesions were significantly higher than that of the normal controls (P < 0.01). The predominant HPV type in condyloma and CIN1 approximately 2 group were HPV 6b/11 (positive rates 85.0% and 72.3%), while HPV 16 and (or) 18 DNA were more frequently found in the the CIN3 group (50.0%) and in the cervical cancer group (73.9%), The difference of distribution of HPV types in cervical condyloma, CIN1 approximately 2 and in CIN3, and cervical carcinoma was statistically significant (P < 0.01).

HPV infections are intimately linked to condyloma, CIN and carcinoma of the uterine cervix; the low-risk types HPV 6 and 11 seem to be associated with cervical condyloma and the low grade CIN; the high-risk types 16 and 18 are closely related to high grade CIN and cervical carcinoma.