European consensus statement on "HPV Vaccination and Colposcopy".

We have developed a Europe-wide consensus statement on "HPV Vaccination and Colposcopy" under the aegis of the European Federation for Colposcopy. We look at the historical perspective, the currently available vaccines, cervical vaccination programs, future perspectives, and the impact all this will have on cervical cancer screening and colposcopy services.

Human Papillomavirus type distribution in invasive cervical cancer in Uganda.

BACKGROUND: We conducted a study aiming to describe Human Papillomavirus (HPV) type distribution in invasive cervical carcinoma in Uganda. METHODS: 191 archival cervical carcinoma samples diagnosed in the Department of Pathology, Makerere University in Kampala between 1968 and 1992 were analysed using a sensitive PCR-Reverse Hybridization Line Probe Assay. RESULTS: Out of the 186 cases of confirmed invasive cervical cancer in the study paraffin blocks, 114 were positive for HPV DNA. Specific HPV genotypes were identifiable in 109 cases: HPV 16, 18, 31, 35, 39, 44, 45, 51, 52 and 70. These occurred as single infections in 105 cases (96.3%) and as multiple infections in 4 cases (3.7%). HPV 16 or 18 accounted for 80% (84/105) of cases with single infection. CONCLUSION: The results of this study confirm the role of HPV 16 and 18 in cervical cancer pathogenesis in the Ugandan population. The results suggest that the currently available HPV vaccines against HPV 16 and 18 could possibly prevent the majority of invasive cervical cancers in Uganda.

Population-based e-records to evaluate HPV triage of screen-detected atypical squamous cervical lesions in Catalonia, Spain, 2010-15.

Equivocal lesions (ASC-US) are common abnormalities in cervical cancer screening exams. HPV testing helps to stratify the risk of progression to high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions or more (HSIL+). Population-based medical electronic data can be used to evaluate screening recommendations. The study uses routine electronic data from primary health centers to estimate the impact of HPV testing in a 3- and a 5-year risk of HSIL+ after an ASC-US. The study includes data derived from medical electronic information from 85,775 women who first attended a cervical cancer screening visit at the National Health System facilities of Catalonia, Spain, during 2010-11 and followed up to 2015. Included women were aged between 25-65 years old, having at least one follow-up visit, and a cervical cytology of ASC-US (N = 1,647). Women with a first result of low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSIL) (N = 945) or those with negative cytology (N = 83,183) were included for comparison. Those with a baseline HSIL+ were excluded. Incident HSIL+ was evaluated by means of Kaplan-Meier curves and multivariate regression models. HPV test results were available for 63.4% of women with a baseline ASC-US. Among all ASC-US, 70 incident HSIL+ were identified at 5 years. ASC-US HPV positive women had a high risk of HSIL+ compared to women with negative cytology (adjusted HR = 32.7; 95% CI: 23.6-45.2) and a similar risk to women with baseline LSIL (HR = 29.3; 95% CI: 22.4-38.2), whereas ASC-US HPV negative women had no differential risk to that observed in baseline negative cytology. Women with ASC-US and no HPV test had an average HSIL+ risk (HR = 14.8; 95% CI: 9.7-22.5). Population-based e-medical records derived from primary health care centers allowed monitoring of screening recommendations, providing robust estimates for the study outcomes. This analysis confirms that HPV testing improved risk stratification of ASC-US lesions. The information can be used to improve diagnosis and management of screen detected lesions.

Clinical evaluation of polymerase chain reaction reverse hybridization assay for detection and identification of human papillomavirus type 16 variants.

BACKGROUND: Isolates of HPV16 comprise six variants: European (Eu), Asian (As), Asian-American (AA), North American (NA), African-1 (AF1), and African-2 (AF2) with different carcinogenic potentials. Highly reliable automatable techniques for HPV variant genotyping would be helpful to confirm the role of variants in cervical cancer in large epidemiological studies. OBJECTIVE: To validate the performance of a novel assay for identification of HPV16 variants. STUDY DESIGN: The test is a multiplex PCR amplifying four small fragments from the E6 open reading frame (ORF). Variants are identified in a reverse hybridization assay with variant specific probes. The novel assay was compared to sequence analysis of the E6 ORF in 68 clinical samples. In addition, HPV16 variant distribution was studied in 218 cervical samples from women with normal cytology, squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and adenocarcinoma of countries in Africa, Asia and South-America. RESULTS: There was 95.6% agreement between the test and sequencing. Analysis of the clinical panel including 218 positive samples revealed worldwide distribution patterns of HPV16 variants. Finally, a threefold increased risk for SCC with grouped Eu and As variants in South-American countries as compared to controls was found, although the association was not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: The novel assay is a reliable and simple technique, distribution patterns of HPV16 variants in different world regions and disease associations could be established and it may be useful in further epidemiological studies investigating the role of HPV16 variants in cervical carcinogenesis.