High grade cervical lesions are caused preferentially by non‐European variants of HPVs 16 and 18

• Published in: International journal of cancer 2007-04, Vol.120 (8), p.1763-1768
• Main Authors: Sichero, Laura, Ferreira, Silvaneide, Trottier, Helen, Duarte‐Franco, Eliane, Ferenczy, Alex, Franco, Eduardo Luis, Villa, Luisa Lina
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Biological and medical sciences; Brazil - epidemiology; Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia - epidemiology; Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia - pathology; Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia - virology; cervical neoplasia; Cohort Studies; cohort study; DNA, Viral - genetics; Female; Female genital diseases; Genes, Viral - genetics; Genetic Variation - genetics; Gynecology. Andrology. Obstetrics; Human papillomavirus; Human papillomavirus 16 - genetics; Human papillomavirus 16 - isolation & purification; Human papillomavirus 18 - genetics; Human papillomavirus 18 - isolation & purification; Humans; Mass Screening; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; molecular variants; Mutation - genetics; oncogenic potential; Papillomavirus Infections - epidemiology; Papillomavirus Infections - pathology; Papillomavirus Infections - virology; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Tropical medicine; Tumors; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms - epidemiology; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms - pathology; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms - virology; Viral Load
• ISSN: 0020-7136; 1097-0215
• DOI: 10.1002/ijc.22481

The intratypic variability of HPVs 16 and 18 has been extensively studied and has been used as an important tool in epidemiological studies of viral transmission, persistence and progression to clinically relevant cervical lesions. Infections by non‐European variants of HPVs 16 and 18 are associated with an increased risk for the development of high grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL). Our aim was to correlate the intratypic molecular variability of both HPV types and risk of persistent infection and lesion outcome in a cohort study conducted in Brazil. We characterized molecular variants of HPV types 16 and 18 by sequencing a fragment of the LCR, and of the E6 and L1 genes, for HPV‐16 variants only. For both types, European variants composed the most prevalent and diverse group. Persistent infections with HPV‐18 were associated with continuous detection of European variants. However, risk for simultaneous detection of HSIL and HPV DNA was higher in women harboring non‐European variants of HPV‐16. The same trend was observed with HSIL detected during follow‐up. Our study confirms the association between non‐European variants and risk of cervical neoplasia, and highlights the importance of their geographic distribution for cervical cancer risk assessment. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.