Human papillomavirus type-distribution in cervical cancer in China: the importance of HPV 16 and 18.

ABSTRACT

Prophylactic vaccination against HPV 16 and 18 has the potential for effective prevention of high-grade precancer (cervical intraepithelial neoplasia [CIN)] 2/3) and ICC caused by these viruses (globally 50 and 70%, respectively) when employed in women prior to starting sexual activity. To provide data for decisions on HPV vaccination in China, we determined HPV type-distribution in ICC and CIN 2/3 from women of different regions within China. A multicenter study was conducted by randomized sampling of paraffin blocks of 664 ICC (630 squamous cell carcinoma [SCC]; 34 adenocarcinoma [ADC]), 569 CIN 2/3 cases from seven regions of China. Histological diagnosis was confirmed in 1,233 cases by consensus review. HPV DNA was detected using the SPF10 LiPA25 version 1 assay. HPV prevalence was 97.6% in SCC, 85.3% in adenocarcinoma, and 98.9% in CIN 2/3. HPV 16 (76.7%) and HPV 18 (7.8%) were the most common, together accounting for 84.5% of SCC, followed by HPV 31 (3.2%), HPV 52 (2.2%), and HPV 58 (2.2%). HPV positivity in SCC did not differ notably by region. However, SCC cases from women HPV 16 positivity than women over 50 years, among whom HPV 52, 58, and 39 were more common. HPV 16 and 18 were under-represented, whereas HPV 31, 52, and 58 were over-represented in CIN2/3 compared to SCC. The potential impact of vaccines against oncogenic HPV types 16 and 18 is estimated to be high (84.5%) against total SCC. These data are critical for China's future evaluation of the cost-effectiveness of current cervical cancer vaccines and of HPV-based screening guidelines.