The Prevalence and Genotype Distribution of Human Papillomavirus Types in the General Female Population in West of Iran

Background: Human Papillomavirus (HPV) plays a necessary etiological role in cervical cancer, it is logical to use HPV as a marker for the early detection of cervical cancer and precancerous. Prevalence of HPV infection and HPV genotypes vary among different regions. Objectives: The aim of the present study was to investigate the frequency of HPV and its genotype distribution in cervical specimens of the patients who had attended to the pathology laboratories of Kermanshah, Iran. Methods: Cervical swaps, genital, and skin biopsy were obtained from each participant. DNA of HPV specimens were extracted using a genomics extraction kit. PCR amplification and genotyping were employed to investigate the presence of High-risk (HR) and Low-risk (LR) genotypes and also the types of HPV. Results: Human Papillomavirus was found in 62.1% of the samples obtained from the patients. Among the HR and LR types, HPV-6 was the major genotype 64.8%. Type 16 and 18 were the most frequent HR-HPV types (presented in 26% of the patient), followed by type 50s (24.7%), 45, 30s, and 11 (1.8% from each). Multiple HPV infections were presented in 40.7% of the positive genotyping specimens. Conclusions: In comparison with previous surveys done in other parts of Iran, we noticed higher frequency of HPV among the collected isolates and also the higher prevalence of HPV types 6, 16, 18, and 50s in this region of Iran. It seems that HPV vaccination as well as an organized prevention program can be safe and efficient to reduce HPV types.