High risk human papillomavirus (HPV) common among a cohort of women with female genital mutilation

Abstract

Background: Nigeria accounts for 25% of cases of Female genital mutilation (FGM) worldwide, with increased incidence of cervical cancer.Objective: This study was aimed at evaluating the relationship between FGM and HPV in a locality with high prevalence of FGM.Methods: Papanicolaou test, DNA hybridization using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), and flow-through hybridization was done to determine the genotypic variants of the HPV. Physical examination and questionnaires were also used to ascertain presence of FGM.Results: FGM was found among 98(49%) subjects, while 23(11.5%) had one or more genotype of HPV. Majority of the cases of HPV (78.3%) occurred in FGM subjects. Seventeen Genotypes of HPV were found among subjects with FGM consisting of 11 high risk (16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 52, 56, 73, 81, 82) and 6 low risk (43, 44, 6, 26, 84, 70). A correlation (p value = 0.0052 at 95% CI) was found between FGM and HPV prevalence with a positive result for post hoc analysis. Results show the first reported case of quintuple HPV infection in a single subject in Nigeria.Conclusion: FGM needs to be halted as it has no known health benefit yet may increase the risk for cervical cancer.Keywords: HPV, female genital mutilation.

The pattern of human papillomavirus infection and genotypes among Nigerian women from 1999 to 2019: a systematic review

“…Data were collated from studies conducted between 2004 [18] and 2019 [13,[19][20][21][22]. Except for the southeastern region of Nigeria where there were no data generated, all HPV genotyping of Nigerian participants were conducted in laboratories in North-central [15,16,20], North-east [23], North-west [15,22] and South-west [13,14,17,18,24] and South-south [25].…”

Cervical dysplasia among migrant women with female genital mutilation/cutting type III: A cross‐sectional study

“…One study was conducted in 200 women between 15 and 60 years old in Nigeria. Despite potential confounding factors, 78.3% of HPV infections were found among the 98 women with FGM/C 12,13 . Another study on 2398 women between 18 and 90 years old was conducted in Senegal.…”

“…Both studies concluded that further research is needed, particularly regarding the role of other risk factors for cervical dysplasia associated with FGM/C and of different types of cutting. They indeed acknowledged that not differentiating the four types of cutting was a limitation 12,13 . A case–control study on risk factors of invasive cervical cancer from Mali, a country where FGM/C is highly prevalent, included 82 cases and 97 controls.…”

“…There are currently only a few retrospective studies on FGM/C and HPV or cervical dysplasia and cancer. 12,13 One study was conducted in 200 women between 15 and 60 years old in Nigeria.…”

Trends and Determinants of Female Genital Mutilation in Ethiopia: Multilevel Analysis of 2000, 2005 and 2016 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Surveys

“…1 FGM is also associated with a reduced level of antenatal care 12 and other health-care service utilization 13,14 and increases the risk of Human papillomavirus infection. 15 Despite many physical, sexual, and psychological problems are associated with FGM, it is still practiced in greater than 30 countries mainly in the west and east Africa including Ethiopia. 2 United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) have a program focusing on empowering women through education, community discussion, and national commitments to abandon FGM practice.…”