A study on Rapid real time PCR and Cytological examination to detect the high risk human papillomavirus types 16 and 18

Abstract

Background: Persistent infection with HPV is the necessary cause for development of cervical cancer. HPV 16 and 18 are the most prevalent genotypes worldwide. Based on WHO factsheets, India is noted to have high burden of cervical cancer. Standardized cervical cancer screening guidelines and cervical screening programmes worldwide follow PAP smear cytology as accepted screening tool. But cervical cytology lacks in sensitivity compared to HPV DNA testing which is gaining importance as a primary screening tool. However, performing PCR on a large scale is expensive. Aim & Objective: The study will be performed by cytology and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect the HPV genotypes 16 and 18 in our region. Results: Of the 150 cases, cytology was positive in 2 cases and PCR was negative in all cases. The pap test positive cases represented CIN 1 / LSIL (low grade squamous intraepithelial lesion). These 2 cytology positive samples probably represent false-positive results or may represent HPV infection with genotypes other than 16 and 18. Low sensitivity of PCR in our study could be due to low prevalence in our region, small study population and short study period. Conclusion: Real time PCR is a rapid, efficient method for the detection of HPV with the separation of HPV-16 and HPV-18 on the basis of differential Tm. Preliminary results suggest it could prove useful if HPV testing is added to cervical screening programmes.