The variable characteristics of human papillomavirus in squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma of Cervix in China

Objective A hospital-based multicenter, retrospective study was conducted to compare the distribution of human papillomavirus (HPV) in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and cervical adenocarcinoma (CADC) in China. Methods Paraffin-embedded tissue blocks diagnosed as SCC and CADC across China were collected, as well as the total number of diagnosed invasive cervical cancer of the 9 selected centers. DNA enzyme immunoassay, reverse hybridization, and multiplex type-specific polymerase chain reaction were used for HPV genotyping. Results The ratios of CADC to SCC were increasing from 2005 to 2010, in parallel with HPV prevalence in CADC. In 630 patients with SCC (mean ± SD age, 45.40 ± 10.30) and 718 patients with CADC (mean ± SD age, 46.09 ± 10.59) recruited, HPV prevalence rates were 97.6% and 74.5%, respectively. Human papillomavirus viral load for SCC is significantly higher than that for CADC. Most common HPV types distributed in SCC and CADC were HPV-16 (78.5%, 75.1%-81.6%; 47.1%, 42.9%-51.3%), HPV-18 (8.0%, 6.1%-10.4%; 41.1%, 37.0%-45.3%), HPV-52 (2.3%, 1.4%-3.8%; 5.6%, 4.0%-7.9%), and HPV-45 (1.1%, 0.6%-2.3%; 3.9%, 2.6%-5.9%). Different diagnostic mean ± SD age for HPV-16/HPV-18 versus other high-risk HPV types were observed: SCC (44.5 ± 9.94 vs 51.0 ± 10.83, p <.05) and CADC (44.1 ± 9.44 vs 47.4 ± 10.41, p =.006). For HPV-negative cases, mean ± SD age was 46.1 ± 10.73 in SCC and 50.3 ± 11.85 in CADC, which were older than the positive (45.4 ± 10.31, 44.5 ± 9.64). HPV-16 and HPV-18 were the most frequent HPV types in both histological types, and HPV-18 was more frequent in CADC than in SCC. Conclusions Human papillomavirus infection was identified more often in SCC than in CADC. Women with HPV-associated cancers, especially HPV-16/HPV-18, were of a younger age at diagnosis when compared with non-HPV-associated cancers.