Prevalence of HPV Infection and Its Association with Cytological Abnormalities of Pap Smears in Tehran

Background: Human papillomavirus infection is one of the most common genital infections. More than 100 types of this virus have been identified, and most of them are capable of infecting the genital mucosa. Human papillomavirus is in association with cancerous and precancerous lesions of the cervix; some types like HPV 16 and 18 are highly carcinogenic, some types like HPV 31 and 33 are moderately and some types like HPV 6 and 11 are mildly carcinogenic. In this research, the relationship between cytological changes of the squamous epithelial cells and the presence of HPV infections in our cases has been assessed. Methods: In this prospective study, we collected 681 samples from women admitted to different hospitals and private gynecological clinics in Tehran, during the years 2003-2005. Two specimens were collected from each patient; one for a Pap smear study and the other for PCR assay in order to detect HPV. Results: Out of our 681 samples, 600 specimens were suitable for PCR assay, and 34 cases were HPV positive in PCR assay. This means that 5.7 percent of our patients were infected with HPV. Conclusion: HPV infection is common in Iran and is nearly identical to European countries such as Germany, and Spain. Also, we found that using PCR assay in order to detect the presence of HPV viruses in vaginal discharges can be very helpful.