Human papillomavirus DNA in cervical lesions from Morocco and its implications for cancer control

Abstract

To determine the types of human papillomaviruses (HPV) in northern Morocco, information which is needed for the design and use of HPV vaccines, we have analysed 129 cervical biopsies from this region. In our study, 91 cases were HPV positive, 45 cases had HPV-16 DNA, and 20 cases had HPV-18 DNA. This distribution of virus type was similar in inflammatory cervical lesions and in invasive cervical carcinomas. In conclusion, the HPV type distribution in Morocco is similar to that in other African Mediterranean countries, where the proportion of HPV-18 cases is significantly higher than in Europe. Determination of virus-type distribution is essential for vaccination programs.

Cervical carcinoma in Algiers, Algeria: Human papillomavirus and lifestyle risk factors

“…17 These differences in the prevalence of HPV in cancerfree women are consistent with the wide variations observed in CC incidence rates (e.g., 2-to 4-fold greater rates in sub-Saharan Africa than in Algeria 1 ). HPV 16 was also by far the most common type among control women (61.1% of HPV-positive control women), as in previous studies from north African countries, 5,18 but at variance with the relatively low proportion of HPV 16 infection found in sub-Saharan Africa in cancer-free women, among whom a broader spectrum of HPV types can be detected. 16,19 Although our study was carried out in an urban setting, many more CC cases than control women lived or had lived for most of their lives in a rural environment.…”

“…Among the 198 CC cases (median age, 53 years; range, 32-82), 26.9% had stage I cancer, whereas the others had a more advanced stage of the disease: 51.3% had stage II, 18.8% stage III and 3.1% stage IV. Squamous cell carcinoma was diagnosed in 183 CC cases, adenocarcinoma in 11 and adenosquamous carcinoma in 4.…”

“…PCR positivity was assessed by means of hybridization of PCR products in an enzyme immunoassay (EIA) using 2 HPV oligoprobe cocktails that together detect the following 36 HPV types: HPV 6,11,16,18, 8 In parallel, HPV positivity was assessed by low-stringency Southern blot analysis of GP5 ϩ /6 ϩ PCR products with a cocktail probe of HPV-specific DNA fragments in order to detect HPV types not represented in the EIA cocktail probes. Only one control appeared in our present study to be EIA-negative but -positive at Southern blot.…”

“…After pooling these PCR products, typing was performed using EIA and HPV type-specific oligoprobes for the HPV types described previously. 9 Finally, E7 open-reading frame type-specific PCR assays for 14 high-risk HPV types (HPV 16,18,31,33,35,39,45, 51, 52, 56, 58, 59, 66, 68) 8 were applied to CC case specimens that were positive for ␤-globin, but negative for HPV DNA by GP5 ϩ /6 ϩ PCR. Reamplification of specimens with E7 was not done among control women, since it is unlikely that the HPV L1 open-reading frame had been disrupted by the integration of HPV DNA in the cellular genome of cancer-free women.…”

High prevalence of high‐risk oncogenic human papillomaviruses harboring atypical distribution in women of childbearing age living in Libreville, Gabon

“…Population-based studies of HPV genital presence have been scarce in sub-Saharan Africa, including West [Xi et al, 2003], East [De Vuyst et al, 2003;Mayaud et al, 2003], and Austral [Castellsague et al, 2001;Gravitt et al, 2002] Africa. The few studies available have reported a markedly different genotypic distribution of genital HR-HPV from that observed in developed countries [De Vuyst et al, 2003;Kay et al, 2003;Lalaoui et al, 2003;Mayaud et al, 2003;Stanczuk et al, 2003;Xi et al, 2003]. If HR-HPV types show an unique distribution in subSaharan Africa this would emphasize the need for a multivalent vaccine and warrant further investigation into the molecular epidemiology of HR-HPV in other African populations.…”