Genotypic distribution of human papillomavirus (HPV) and cervical cytology findings in 5906 Thai women undergoing cervical cancer screening programs

Abstract

BackgroundCervical cancer is the major cause of morbidity and mortality in Thai women. Nevertheless, the preventive strategy such as HPV vaccination program has not been implemented at the national level. This study explored the HPV prevalence and genotypic distribution in a large cohort of Thai women.MethodsA hospital-based cervical cancer screening program at Chulabhorn Hospital, Bangkok and a population-based screening program at a rural Pathum Thani Province were conducted using liquid-based cytology and HPV genotyping.ResultsOf 5906 women aged 20–70 years, Pap smear was abnormal in 4.9% and the overall HPV prevalence was 15.1%, with 6.4% high-risk (HR), 3.5% probable high-risk (PR), and 8.4% low-risk (LR) HPV. The prevalence and genotypic distribution were not significantly different between the two cohorts. Among HR-HPV genotypes, HPV52 was the most frequent (1.6%), followed by HPV16 (1.4%), HPV51 (0.9%), HPV58 (0.8%), HPV18 (0.6%), and HPV39 (0.6%). Among LR-HPV genotypes, HPV72 and HPV62 were the most frequent while HPV6 and HPV11 were rare. HPV infection was found to be proportionately high in young women, aged 20–30 years (25%) and decreasing with age (11% in women aged >50). The more severe abnormal cytology results, the higher positivity of HR-HPV infection was observed.ConclusionsIn conclusion, HPV52, HPV16, and HPV51 were identified as the most common HR-HPV genotypes in Thai women. This study contributes genotypic evidence that should be essential for the development of appropriate HPV vaccination program as part of Thailand’s cervical cancer prevention strategies.

Prevalence of human papillomavirus infection among women in rural Nepal

“…The main finding in our study is a higher overall prevalence of HPV infection (14.4%) than previously reported from urban Nepal (8.6%) , but lower than observed in neighboring countries; a study from southeast China showed a prevalence of 23% , and in Tamil Nadu, India, a prevalence of 17% was reported . However, the overall prevalence lies within the range 7–15%, which is similar to some other Asian countries . Another major finding is a different distribution of type‐specific HPVs than reported in previous studies.…”

Comparison of human papillomavirus (HPV) detection in urine and cervical swab samples using the HPV GenoArray Diagnostic assay

“…In Southeast Asia, the prevalence ranged from 1.6% (Vietnam) to 13.3% (Korea). Even within a country such as Thailand, HPV prevalence can vary from 7.2% in northern region to 15.1% in central region (Kantathavorn et al, 2015). …”

The epidemiologic status of gynecologic cancer in Thailand

“…In the future, the government is considering implementing the immunization of human papillomavirus (HPV) into the national immunization program [7]. Through the use of the hospital-based cervical cancer screening program at Chulabhorn Hospital, it was found that there were 4.9% abnormal Pap smear and the overall prevalence rate of HPV was 15.1% (sample size: 5,906) [8]. Thus, if this integration is successful, it could help lower the rate of cervical cancer [9].…”