Prevalence of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Genotypes among Women During 2015–2020 in Mashhad, Iran

Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women, and human papillomavirus (HPV) is the leading cause of cervical cancer. Cervical cancer screening and HPV vaccination are important factors in the incidence of cervical cancer.

This study was performed on liquid base cytology (LBC) samples of 1214 women in Mashhad who were referred for cervical cancer screening in 2015-2020. Samples were examined by single-step polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and reverse line blot for HPV genotyping.

Totally, 386 women (31.8%) were HPV PCR positive. HPV genotyping of 277 samples showed that HPV 31 (3%), 16 (2.5%), 51 (2.2%), 18 (2%), and 66 (1.8%) were the most prevalent high-risk HPV (hrHPV) genotypes. Among low-risk HPV (lrHPV) genotypes, HPV 6 (9.2%), 53 (4.7%), and 42 (2.8%) were the most common genotypes. The range of multiple infections varied between two to eight genotypes and the prevalence of multiple HPV infections (12.4%) was higher than single infections (10.4%). Among women with single HPV infections, HPV 31 and 66 were equally the most common hrHPV genotypes, followed by HPV 16 and 39. In women with multiple HPV infections, HPV 31 was the most common hrHPV genotype, followed by HPV 51 and 16. For both single and multiple HPV infections, HPV 6 was the most common lrHPV genotype, followed by HPV 53 and 42.

In conclusion, given the high prevalence of single and multiple HPV infections, the need for governmentally supported HPV vaccination and cervical cancer screening should be emphasized to prevent cervical cancer.