Identification and typing of human papillomavirus in cervical cancers in taiwan

Background. Although human papillomaviruses (HPV) are associated with cervical cancer, it has yet to be determined if specific HPV types have clinical or prognostic significance. Methods. Identification and typing of HPV were done by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism. Results. Of the 43 cases of cervical cancer, 31 (72%) were HPV positive. The results of HPV typing in 40 cases of squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix revealed the presence of HPV‐16 in 20 cases (50%), HPV‐18 in 2 cases, HPV‐11 in 1 case, HPV‐33 in 1 case, HPV‐52 in 1 case, HPV‐58 in 1 case, and unidentified HPV types in 5 cases. Neither HPV‐31 nor HPV‐42 were present in our study. One case of squamous cell carcinoma had HPV‐11 integration. Chi‐square analysis revealed significant correlation between HPV genotypes and squamous cell patterns, no significant correlation between HPV genotypes and clinical stages, and cell differentiation of squamous cell carcinoma of cervix. Conclusions. These findings may contribute to understanding the role of HPV in cancer and the value of typing as a prognostic indicator.