Frequency of high risk human papillomavirus types in squamous cell carcinoma of cervix among women

Objective: To determine the frequency of high-risk subtypes of Human papillomavirus (HPV) 16, 18, 31 and 45 in squamous cell carcinoma of cervix (SCC) among women. Methods: A descriptive study was conducted in the department of Molecular Genetics Laboratory, Ziauddin University Hospital, North Nazimabad, Karachi, Pakistan. A total of fifty formalin-fixed paraffin embedded samples (blocks) of SCC of cervix were collected from two Pathology laboratories through convenience sampling. These blocks were analyzed for presence of HPV and its subtype. DNA was extracted by QIAamp DNA Kit and amplification was done by Polymerase chain reaction (PCR). General primers were used for HPV DNA and HPV genotyping for 16, 18, 31 and 45 was done by using a standard kit. Results: HPV was detected in nine (18%) out of fifty paraffin embedded tissues of squamous cell carcinoma of cervix. Out of the 9 cases that were positive, five (55.6%) were infected with HPV16, while in the rest of the positive samples, the genotype could not be identified in four (44.4%). HPV was not determined in majority (82%) of the samples. Conclusion: This study concluded that HPV might not be the major cause of SCC of cervix. There could be other causes among women leading to prevalent HPV types that the study did not look into due to limitations.