Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and intraepithelial neoplasia and invasive cancer of the uterine cervix: a case-control study in Zaragoza, Spain

Introduction

The raw incidence of cancer of the uterine cervix is Spain is 7,8 per 100.000 inhabitants (adjusted incidence is 5.6). The incidence of this tumor is still low, but a steady increase has been seen, probably related to increasing risk factors.

Aim

To determine the frequency of infection by different types of human papillomavirus (HPV) in Papanicolau smears from women with and without cancer of the uterine cervix in Spain.

Patients and methods

A case-control study was performed in women with and without cervical cancer from Zaragoza, Spain. Pap smears from 600 cases (540 women with cervical intraepithelial neoplasms (CIN) and 60 with invasive cancer) and 1200 controls (women without those lesions) were tested by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and typed by oligonucleotide microarray-based detection.

Results

HPV was detected in 93.3% of all samples with invasive cancer versus 17.5% of controls. OR for invasive cancer was 55 (95% CI 21.5–140,5). Statistically significant associations were also found for different grades of cervical dysplasia.

Conclusion

The strong association found between HPV infection, specifically types 16 and 18 and cancer of the uterine cervix in Zaragoza, Spain, stresses the importance of ongoing efforts to institute a vaccine program with recently approved HPV vaccines in order to prevent cervical cancer in this population.