We aimed to evaluate the 5-year incidence and clearance of type-specific high-risk HPV (hr-HPV) among a Chinese rural women cohort.
A screening cohort with 1,997 women aged 35-45 years was followed up with an interval of approximate 5 years. HPV genotyping (INNO-LiPA Extra, Innogenetics, Belgium ) was performed on cervical samples collected from HPV positive women (Hybrid Capture II) in this cohort since 2005. The 5-year incidence and clearance of type-specific HPV and the relevant demographic factors were calculated.
The 5-year overall incidence of hr-HPV was 15.6% and the clearance was 69.0%. HPV 16 related types had two times probability of HPV incidence (10.6%) after 5 years than HPV 18 related types (4.4%) (P<0.001), while the clearance of HPV 16 related types (74.1%) was lower than that of HPV 18 related (85.9%) (P=0.048). The incidence and clearance of HPV 16 was 2.7% and 70.9%. HPV 52 and 16 ranked the top of hr-HPV incidence and HPV 52 and 18 ranked the top of hr-HPV clearance. Sexual debut age was the main factors correlated with HPV incidence, with the adjusted RR of 1.478 (95%CI: 1.110-1.967).
The high incidence, persistence and low clearance prompted the importance of screening in HPV 16 related positive mid-adult Chinese women. Women with HPV 16 related repeated positive within 5 years should be considered as a high risk population for cervical cancer.