High Risk Human Papillomavirus Genotype Distribution and its Relevance to Cytology in Lao PDR

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is thought to be a primary cause of cervical cancer, especially the high-risk (HR)-HPV genotype group that causes the development of neoplastic lesions. HPV testing is being conducted worldwide to clarify the risk of cervical cancer. Lao Peopleʼs Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) is one of the developing countries located in Southeast Asia. HPV genotype distribution analysis has not been comprehensively conducted in Lao PDR. In this study, cervical cytology and presence of HR-HPV were examined, using both hybrid capture 2 (HC2) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods, with self-collected cervical samples from 297 healthy asymptomatic women in Oudomxay district, a northern rural district of Lao PDR. The overall rate of abnormal cytology in Oudomxay was 9.8%. HR-HPV positivity rates by HC2 and PCR were 22.9% and 9.1%, respectively. The most prevalent HR-HPV genotype was HPV 58, followed by HPV 16 and 33 in Oudomxay. Considering together with our previous data in Vientiane, the overall HR-HPV positivity rate and frequencies of HPV 16 and 58 increased as cytological morphology deteriorated. The present results suggest that HPV 58 is associated with high-grade cervical lesions, similar to HPV 16, in Lao PDR.