While it is widely known that HPV 16 and 18 are responsible for approximately 70% of cervical cancer cases worldwide, limited information exists about the HPV genotype distribution in Ecuador.
Our objective is to detect the prevalence of High Risk HPV genotypes (HR-HPV) in the general Ecuadorian female population attending a reference center
Samples were taken from patients at the gynecology department at Hospital Luis Vernaza, Guayaquil, Ecuador from May 2015 to November 2015. Cervical samples were collected with Rovers Cervex brushes and then placed in PreservCyt Solution. Samples were then run on the Roche Cobas 4800 according to the manufacturer´s protocol. Roche Cobas 4800 can detect HPV 16, HPV 18 and -“other hr-HPV genotype,” indicating the presence of a hrHPV genotype(s) other than HPV 16/18.
Screening indicated the presence of an hr-HPV genotype in 266 of the 1643 total cervical samples (16.2%). Of these 266 samples, 246 only had one of the three markers positive. 35 samples were positive for HPV-16,15 were positive for HPV-18 and196 were positive for a-“other hr-HPV. Co-infections were reported in 20 cases. Co-infection of both HPV-16 and HPV 18 was found in one sample; co-infection of HPV 16 and another hr-HPV genotype, other than HPV 18, was present in 13 cases, whereas co-infection of HPV-18 and other hr-HPV was detected in 6 cases. No sample had all three of these markers positive. In total, we found 49 samples positive for HPV-16 and 21 samples positive for HPV-18.
This study provides new epidemiological data concerning the hr-HPV distribution in Ecuador. The distribution of hr-HPV infection is similar to those reported in other populations. Determining the prevalence of HPV 16 and HPV 18 is important since the current HPV vaccines available in Ecuador prevent the infections of those genotypes. Up until today, this is one of the largest studies using a clinically validated assay to determine the prevalence of hr-HPV genotypes in Ecuador.