Comparisons of high-risk cervical HPV infections in Caribbean and US populations

Abstract

Background: Disparities in cervical cancer incidence and mortality rates exist among women of African ancestry (African-American, African-Caribbean and African). Persistent cervical infection with Human papillomavirus (HPV) is associated with cervical dysplasia and if untreated, could potentially progress to invasive cervical cancer. Very few studies have been conducted to examine the true prevalence of HPV infection in this population. Comparisons of cervical HPV infection and the type-specific distribution of HPV were performed between cancer-free Caribbean and US women.

Cross-sectional study of genital carcinogenic HPV infections in Paramaribo, Suriname: prevalence and determinants in an ethnically diverse population of women in a pre-vaccination era

“…Ethnic sexual mixing was also an independent determinant for carcinogenic HPV infection. Variation in the prevalence of HPV genotypes and variant lineages among ethnic groups within a population has been observed in previous studies 23 24. This could be associated with differences in sexual behaviour, social class (poverty and malnutrition), parity, use of barrier contraceptive protection and use of steroidal contraception 23…”

Distribution Patterns of Infection with Multiple Types of Human Papillomaviruses and Their Association with Risk Factors

“…There are reports showing that black women display a certain degree of protection against HPV infection when compared to hispanic ones [38], [39], agreeing with our findings. However, other studies carried out with black women reported that infections found in this population are higher [40]. There are no studies which assess the true HPV prevalence in black women in different geographical regions, since most of recent studies carried out with black women are focused in vaccination and post-vaccination monitoring.…”

Cryotherapy for HPV clearance in women with biopsy‐confirmed cervical low‐grade squamous intraepithelial lesions

“…It has recently been shown that the prevalence of HPV infection in women in the United States is as high as 39% [6], while approximately 10% of Thai women have cervical high-risk HPV infections [7]. These data show that HPV is a common infection.…”