Comparison of human papillomavirus genotypes in archival cervical cancer specimens from Alaska natives, Greenland natives and Danish Caucasians.

Archival, formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded cervical cancer specimens from 53 Alaska natives, 32 Greenland natives and 34 Danish Caucasians were analyzed for human papillomavirus (HPV) genotypes 16, 18, 31, 33, 35 and 45 and unidentified genotypes (HPV X) using PCR. The specimens were from the time period 1980-1989. No significant differences were observed in the overall HPV detection rates among cases from Alaska (98.1%), Greenland (84.4%) and Denmark (85.3%). HPV genotype 16 was the most prevalent type: 78.8% in Alaska natives, 96.3% in Greenland natives and 82.8% in Danish Caucasians. A prevalence of 21.2% HPV 31 and 30.8% HPV 33 was found in Alaska natives, of which most were coinfections with HPV 16. Only 3.7% HPV 31 and 3.7% HPV 33 were found in Greenland natives and no HPV 31 and 6.9% HPV 33 were found in Danish Caucasians. HPV 18 was only detected in Alaska natives and HPV 35 and 45 were not detected in any of the three populations. Infections with multiple genotypes were prevalent in Alaskan (36.5%) but not in Greenland natives (3. 7%) and Danish Caucasians (6.9%). The Eskimo subgroup of the Alaska native population has a significantly higher prevalence of HPV genotypes 31 and 33 associated with mixed infections in invasive cancer than the two other native subgroups (P = 0.04) and Greenland and Danish populations, reflecting genotype distributions in dysplasia and normal cervical cytology. The reason for HPV genotype diversity, although unknown, may be relevant to the current development of HPV vaccines.

Prevalence of HPV in premalignant and malignant cervical lesions in Greenland and Denmark: PCR and in situ hybridization analysis on archival material.

Archival formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded cervical specimens from 125 women in Greenland and 139 women in Denmark who had CIN I-III or cervical cancer diagnosed between 1983 and 1987 were analysed for human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV-16) by in situ hybridization and for HPV-16, 18, 31, 33, 35 and 45 by PCR. In situ hybridization analysis showed an HPV-16 prevalence of 17% (16/95) and 23% (24/105) in the premalignant lesions from Greenland and Denmark, respectively. The HPV-16 prevalence rate in the cancer specimens was 10% (3/30) in the samples from Greenland and 29% (10/34) in the Danish specimens. A total of 82 Greenlandic and 107 Danish specimens were beta-globin-positive by PCR reaction. HPV-16-specific PCR on these samples showed 63% (34/54) of the Greenlandic and 68% (50/74) of the Danish preinvasive lesions to be positive. The corresponding HPV-16-positive rates for the invasive cancers were 82% (23/28) for Greenland and 70% (23/33) for Denmark. This study of patient samples supports our previous population-based studies in which similar HPV-detection rates were found among random samples of women from Greenland and Denmark, although Greenland has a 4-5-fold higher cervical cancer incidence.

The prevalence of human papillomavirus in cervical lesions with koilocytosis and/or CIN I.

Thirty-one patients with koilocytosis and/or concomitant CIN I were analysed for the presence of HPV types 11, 16 and 18 by in situ hybridization and Southern blot analysis. The prevalence of HPV was 48% and 55%, respectively, when measured by the two methods and among the HPV positive, HPV 11 and 16 were present in 47% and 60%, respectively, whereas HPV 18 was not found.

HPV 11, 16 and 18 DNA sequences in cervical swabs from women with cervical dysplasia: prevalence and associated risk of progression.

Cervical swabs obtained from 164 women with histologically proven preinvasive and invasive cervical neoplasia were analysed for HPV type 11, 16 and 18 DNA by filter in situ hybridisation. HPV 16 or 18 was detected in 8 of 24 swabs from patients with invasive squamous cell carcinoma (33%), in 59 of 100 patients with carcinoma in situ or severe dysplasia (59%) and in 16 of 40 patients with mild or moderate dysplasia (40%). HPV 6 or 11 was found in only 2% of all swabs. Thirty-eight of the patients participated in a prospective follow-up study and were monitored non-invasively by cytology and colposcopy for 8 to 36 months. 25 patients had persisting or progressive lesions, 13 of which harboured HPV 16 or 18. Of 13 patients who had complete resolution of the dysplasia, only 2 were HPV-positive. The study indicates a significantly higher risk of malignant progression when the cervical dysplasia is associated with HPV 16 or 18 infection.

The prevalence of human papillomavirus type 16 and 18 DNA in cervical cancer in different age groups: a study on the incidental cases of cervical cancer in Norway in 1983.

In a study carried out to estimate the prevalence of genital Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) infection among cervical cancer patients in Norway, the following values were recorded using the southern blot hybridization method: 54.1% HPV 16, 9.5% HPV 18, 0% HPV 11, and 1.4% HPV 16 and 18 coinfection, yielding a total of 62.2% HPV positive cases in the study. An attempt to include a normal biopsy as "internal control" from each patient failed, as macroscopically normal tissue was often histologically abnormal. HPV infection did not relate to stage of disease, age, or 5-year survival, whereas the classic relationship between stage and survival was observed. A very high percentage of HPV positive cases occurred among older women, a fact which does not support the existence of a new HPV epidemic. The studied population is unique, as it represents 75 cases which comprise a representative sample of the 372 incidental cases of cervical cancer in Norway in 1983. To our knowledge this is the first study of its kind.