High-risk human papillomavirus, other than type 16/18, in predominantly older Taiwanese women with high-grade cervical preinvasive lesions.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the various genotypes of human papillomavirus (HPV) in Taiwanese women patients with abnormal cervical cytology and analyze the associations between HPV types, cervical preinvasive lesions, and the medical characteristics of these patients.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

We performed HPV genotyping GeneChip procedures and colposcopies for 784 women with abnormal Papanicolaou smears. The characteristics of the patients and the status of the HPV infection were correlated.

RESULTS

A total of 706 (90.1%) of the 784 women were positive for HPV infection, including 641 patients with high-risk HPV (HR-HPV). Among the patients with high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSILs), the average age of the 273 patients with other HR-HPV types (48.6 ± 13.8 years) was significantly older than the 222 patients infected with HPV 16/18 (39.8 ± 11.8 years) (p < 0.001). The proportion of patients with HSILs who were older than 40 years and infected with other HR-HPV types (76.6%) was also significantly higher than those with HPV 16/18 (20.3%) (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Women older than 40 years and having abnormal Pap smears and HR-HPV infections other than type 16/18 should be managed carefully because of the risk for HSILs.