Distribution of human papillomavirus genotypes in women with cervical alterations from north Argentina

Fil: Deluca, G. D. Northeast National University. Faculty of Medicine. Department of Clinical Microbiology. Laboratory of Molecular Application; Argentina.Fil: Marin, H. M. Northeast National University. Institute of Regional Medicine. Department of Virology. Laboratory of Molecular Biology; Argentina.Fil: Blanco, N. S. Northeast National University. Faculty of Medicine. Department of Clinical Microbiology. Laboratory of Molecular Application; Argentina.Fil: Basiletti, J. A. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas; Argentina.Fil: González, J. V. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas; Argentina.Fil: Merino, A. L. Northeast National University. Faculty of Medicine. Department of Clinical Microbiology. Laboratory of Molecular Application; Argentina.Fil: Picconi, M. A. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas; Argentina.Background: Cervical cancer remains a major public health problem in northern Argentina, showing the highest mortality rate in the country (approximately 22 cases/100000 women). Objective: The aim of this study was to provide epidemiological data on the prevalence and type distribution of human papillomavirus (HPV) in women with pre-neoplastic lesions before the massive introduction of HPV vaccination in the country. Materials and methods: Exfoliated cervical cells were collected to screen for HPV using the widely known MY09/11 PCR, followed by the restriction fragment-length polymorphism (RFLP) technique from a total of 714 women with previously diagnosed atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS), low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LG-SIL) and high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HG-SIL). Results: Overall HPV prevalence was 48.2% in ASCUS (24 different HPV types detected), 66.5% in LG-SIL (37 HPV types detected) and 82.6% in HG-SIL (16 HPV types detected). HPV-16 was the most prevalent type among all cases. With respect to multiple HPV infections, 9.6% were observed in ASCUS, 14.3% in LG-SIL and 11.4% in HG-SIL. Conclusion: The major strength of our study is the assessment of a large series of women with cytological alterations in this region. The information attained will be useful as a regional baseline for future epidemiological vigilance, in the context of the national HPV vaccination program