ABSTRACT
High-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) is recognized as the etiologic agent responsible for cervical cancer, ranking as the second most prevalent cancer among women in Algeria with an incidence rate of 10.4 per 100,000. The primary aim of this study was to conduct a preliminary prospective investigation into the detection of HR-HPV infections in Tlemcen, Algeria, where screening is exclusively based on cytology. A total of 130 cervical swabs were analysed in this study. HPV detection was performed utilizing the Cobas® 4800 test, incorporating polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for individual genotyping of HPV-16 and HPV-18, as well as pooled detection of 12 other commonly occurring HPVs. The findings revealed that out of the 130 samples, 28 tested positive for HR-HPV, resulting in a prevalence rate of 21.5%. Among these cases, five infections demonstrated the coexistence of HPV16 with other HR-HPV genotypes. The prevalence of HPV16 infections was determined to be 28.6% (8/28), whereas 68% of infections (19/28) were attributed to other HR-HPV genotypes. These observations indicate that HPV16 was not the prevailing genotype. Consequently, these results underscore the necessity for a larger-scale study with an expanded sample size encompassing cytology and HPV testing. Such an investigation would be invaluable in facilitating the development of a national prevention program to effectively control cervical cancer.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Despite the fact that the implication of human papillomavirus (HPV) in the carcinogenesis and prognosis of cervical cancer is well established, the impact of a co-infection with high risk HPV (HR-HPV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is still not fully understood. METHODS: Fifty eight randomly selected cases of squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) of the uterine cervix, 14 normal cervices specimens, 21 CIN-2/3 and 16 CIN-1 cases were examined for EBV and HPV infections. Detection of HR-HPV specific sequences was carried out by PCR amplification using consensus primers of Manos and by Digene Hybrid Capture. The presence of EBV was revealed by amplifying a 660 bp specific EBV sequence of BALF1. mRNA expression of LMP-1 in one hand and protein levels of BARF-1, LMP-1 and EBNA-1 in the other hand were assessed by RT-PCR and immunoblotting and/or immunohischemistry respectively. RESULTS: HR-HPV infection was found in patients with SCC (88%), low-grade (75%) and high grade (95%) lesions compared to only 14% of normal cervix cases. However, 69%, 12.5%, 38.1%, and 14% of SCC, CIN-1, CIN-2/3 and normal cervix tissues, respectively, were EBV infected. The highest co-infection (HR-HPV and EBV) was found in squamous cell carcinoma cases (67%). The latter cases showed 27% and 29% expression of EBV BARF-1 and LMP-1 oncogenes respectively. CONCLUSION: The high rate of HR-HPV and EBV co-infection in SCC suggests that EBV infection is incriminated in cervical cancer progression. This could be taken into account as bad prognosis in this type of cancer. However, the mode of action in dual infection in cervical oncogenesis needs further investigation.
