Detection of human papillomavirus in women attending Pap cervical screening camp at a peripheral hospital of North-Eastern India

Abstract

t r a c tHuman papillomavirus (HPV) associated cervical cancer is the leading cause of deaths in India. However, cytological/HPV screening may result in early detection of cervical cancer, resulting in early treatment and reduced mortality. Although reports related to general population is available, data on HPV prevalence among women attending AFMS health care facilities is scarce. Cervical samples were collected for cytological staining by Pap test and molecular detection by PCR, genotyping by HPV specific primers and sequencing. Apart from finding of atypical cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS) in one subject, no evidence of malignancy was observed. A high prevalence of HPV was found in this study group, which was intermediate between previous reports from general population and cervical cancer patients. All the subjects had infection of high risk HPV type16. HPV prevalence was found similar between different age groups. Although, none of the study subjects had malignant changes, but due to high prevalence of high risk HPV infection and other associated risk factors, these subjects might be at an elevated risk of developing cervical cancer. Regular follow-up of these patients who were detected HPV positive are required to screen for cervical malignancy.ª 2013, Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS). All rights reserved.

Reply

“…We appreciate and acknowledge the concerns of the reader regarding the high prevalence of HPV DNA in the inflammatory smears 1 and we also believe that follow-up studies, including immune-suppressed subjects are essential in this population. However, due to the fleeting nature, longitudinal studies are very difficult to conduct in this population.…”

“…Regarding the reader's suggestion about methodology and use of primers in our original work, 1 we wish to explain our point from the perspective that our study was specifically aimed at assessing the prevalence of HPV high-risk (HR) types (16 & 18). These two HR types have been found to be virtually universal in their involvement in cervical cancers.…”

Human papillomavirus detection in genital samples by novel PGMY Primers

“…Dear Editor, I read with interest the communication titled "Detection of human papillomavirus in women attending pap cervical screening camp at a peripheral hospital of North Eastern India" by Datta et al published in Med J Armed Forces India 2015; 71 (2) 182e185. 1 I would like to add the following to the context.…”

Letter to Editor

“…Dear Editor, I read with great interest the original article titled "Comparative analysis of changes in MR imaging of pre and post intra uterine progesterone implants in adenomyosis cases" by Dashottar et al published in Med J Armed Forces India 2015; 71:145e151. 1 Being a practicing gynecologist I have few practical points to make. It's a well known fact that MRI is a sensitive tool for diagnosing adenomyosis.…”