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Background: About 99.7% of cervical dysplasia and cancer cases are caused by persistent genital high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) infection. Most HPV infections are subclinical and self-limiting but may persists in about 5 to 10% of infected women, resulting in pre-cancerous lesions that can progress to invasive cancer years later. This study is aimed at detecting hrHPV among apparently healthy women of reproductive age in Kaduna State, thus providing more information for effective control of HPV and cervical cancer in Nigeria. Methodology: Cervical smears were taken from 515 randomly selected apparently healthy women across selected secondary and tertiary facilities from 3 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in each Senatorial Zone of Kaduna State, Nigeria. Liquid-based cytology (LBC) technique was used to collect cervical smears and prepare smears for cytology study, while the remaining samples were stored at -80oC for molecular studies. HPV DNA were extracted from the samples and amplified by convectional PCR using specific hrHPV (HPV 16,18,31 and 45) primer sets and a broad spectrum MY09/11 and GP5+/6+ primers for a wider range of HPV genotypes. Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.0 and relationship between prevalence of hrHPV and socio-demographic factors such as age and marital status were determined using Chisquare or Fisher Exact test with p<0.05 considered statistically significant. Results: The prevalence of total HPV and hrHPV infections in the study population was 11.8% (61/515) and 9.3% (48/515) respectively. A total of 100 HPV genotypes were detected by PCR in the 61 positive smears, with 66 hrHPV types from 48 women, and 34 other HPV types from 13 women. The frequency of hrHPV genotypes detected was HPV 31 (5.8%, n=30), HPV 45 (4.1%, n=21), HPV 16 (1.7%, n=9), and HPV 18 (1.2%, n=6), with other HPV genotypes (6.6%, n=34). The frequency of cervical dysplasia was 6.4% (33/515), which was significantly associated with all HPV genotypes except HPV 16. Single HPV infection was seen in 31 (51.8%) women while multiple infections were seen in 30 (49.2%), with double infection in 21 (34.4%) and triple infections in 9 (14.7%). Conclusion: The prevalence of hrHPV infection was high among women in Kaduna State, Nigeria. DNA-based screening for hrHPV genotypes and production of new vaccine that will protect against the predominant hrHPV genotypes are thus recommended for the prevention of cervical cancer in Nigeria, Africa and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies on genital mycoplasmas (GM) role in gynaecologic cancers (GC) such as cervical, endometrial, ovarian, vaginal, vulva and fallopian tube, is limited. This review was conducted to evaluate an association between GM and GC. The systematic study was conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines across online databases including Embase, Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science from inception to August, 2022. We included crosssectional and case-control studies examining possible connection of GM infection and development of GC, and all evidence-based studies with likely association between GM infection and incidence of GC were studied. Selection criteria aided identification, screening, and risk of bias assessment. Thirteen studies with at least moderate risk of bias, were included. The most commonly associated GMs was Mycoplasma genitalium followed by Ureaplasma urealyticum and Mycoplasma hominis. Studies reported disease advancement with GMs most especially in cases of co-infection. The most associated GCs were cervical, ovarian and endometrial. Infection with U. urealyticum, M. hominis, and M. genitalium was associated with cervical cancer risk (OR 1.31-1.41), and M. hominis and M. genitalium had associated risk with ovarian (RR 0.93-1.92) and endometrial cancer (OR 1.36-2.07). No association was found with vaginal, vulva and fallopian tube cancers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Many women are known to contract human papilloma virus (HPV) infection in their lifetime but only a few develop cervical cancer. One of the major factors that contribute to development of cervical cancer is HPV persistence. Several other factors including viral load have been implicated in cervical cancer development. This work therefore intends to investigate the persistence of cervical HPV infection among cohort of women in Awka, Nigeria. Methodology: A cohort of 58 women with normal Papanicolaou (Pap) test but positive HPV DNA selected from a population of 410 women at baseline were followed up over a period of 6 months from April to October 2015. Cervical specimens collected were subjected to HPV DNA test and viral quantification using TaqMan Real Time PCR and cervical cytology. Risk factors were obtained using semi structured interviewer administered questionnaires. Variables were analysed using descriptive statistics and T-test on IBM SPSS statistics version 21.0 and EPI INFOTM 7.0 Results: At the 6-month follow up, cervical HPV infection persisted in 29 women, representing 50% of the women followed up. Among the 29 women, 7 (24.1%) developed abnormal Pap smear (Low grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesion). Factors significantly associated with persistence at bivariate analysis of HPV include previous sexually transmitted infection (STI) (p=0.005), HIV positivity (p=0.04), HIV positivity but no anti-retroviral drugs (p=0.014), HPV 16 infection (p<0.0001) and age less than 40 years (p<0.0001). At multinomial logistic regression, only age above 17 years at first sexual intercourse (p=0.003, CI=0.012-0.392) and multiple lifetime sexual partners (p=0.021, CI=0.20-0.726) were statistically significant. Conclusion: High risk HPV infection, in addition to other factors peculiar to an individual may influence HPV persistence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]