Detection of human papillomavirus genotypes associated with mucopurulent cervicitis and cervical cancer in Changchun, China

Abstract: Objective: To determine the prevalence and genotype distribution of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection among Chinese patients with mucopurulent cervicitis (MPC) or cervical cancer (CC). Methods: In total, 191 cases of CC (n=66), acute MPC (n=84), and healthy cervix controls (n=41) were initially included; samples were collected between May 21, 2008, and October 9, 2011. Cervical specimens were screened for HPV using a nested polymerase chain reaction assay and DNA sequencing. Results: Overall prevalence of HPV infection was 20.0% in the control group, 53.3% in the MPC group, and 93.8% in the CC group. The predominant genotype detected in all 3 groups was the oncogenic variant HPV 16 (87.7%, 18.7%, and 10.0% in the CC, MPC and control specimens, respectively). The second most frequent genotype among patients with MPC was HPV 58. This variant is also oncogenic and was detected at a higher rate in the MPC group (9.3%) than in the control (2.5%) and CC (1.5%) groups. Conclusion: Infection with HPV was prevalent among Chinese women with MPC or CC. Furthermore, the high prevalence of oncogenic genotypes observed among HPV-positive patients with MPC suggests that this group is at increased risk of developing CC. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]