Abstract 5488: The rate of vertical transmission of human papillomavirus from mothers to infants: Relationship between infection rate and mode of delivery

Objectives: To assess the prevalence of human papillomavirus(HPV) infection among pregnant women and to evaluate the rate of vertical transmission of HPVs to their infants. Methods: 491 pregnant women and their infants delivered at Cheil General Hospital & Women's Healthcare Center were prospectively recruited for this study between February 2010 and November 2011. Cervical swabs and blood samples were collected from the women at 32-36 weeks of gestation. Neonatal buccal swabs and cord blood were taken immediately after birth. HPV positive neonates were rechecked HPV DNA at 6 months postpartum. HPV genotyping with HPV DNA chip (MyGene Co., Seoul, Korea) was used to detect the HPV of mothers and neonates. Type specific PCR was performed to see HPV DNA in the maternal and cord blood in cases of mother and infant infected same types of HPV DNA. Results: HPV DNA was positive in 16%(80/500) of mothers and 3.5%(17/491) of neonates. The rate of vertical transmission of HPV to their infant was 21.3%(17/80). HPV DNA type-specific maternal/neonate concordance was 100%. 16 HPV positive infants were delivered vaginally and 1 HPV positive infant was delivered by cesarean section with labor. There is no HPV positive infants delivered from cesarean section without labor. All HPV positive neonates were converted HPV negative at 6 months after birth. There was no viremia in maternal and cord blood in cases of mother and infant infected same type of HPV DNA. Conclusions: Prevalence of HPV DNA in neonates born from HPV positive mothers was significantly high. However, these data suggest that neonatal HPV DNA positive is not true vertical infection but contamination during vaginal delivery. Key words: Human papillomavirus, vertical transmission Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 5488. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-5488