A comparison of the MeltPro® HPV Test with the Cobas® HPV Test for detecting and genotyping 14 high-risk human papillomavirus types

Prevalence, Concordance, and Transmission of Human Papillomavirus Infection Among Heterosexual Couples in Liuzhou, China: An Observational Perspective Study

BACKGROUND

Knowledge of human papillomavirus (HPV) transmission dynamics, which have important public health implications for designing HPV vaccination strategies, is scarce in undeveloped areas.

METHODS

From May to July 2014, 390 couples were enrolled from the general population in Liuzhou, China. Exfoliated cells from male penis shaft/glans penis/coronary sulcus (PGC) and perianal/anal canal (PA) sites and from female vaginal, vulvar, and PA sites were collected biannually for 1 year.

RESULTS

The HPV type-specific concordance rate between couples was 15.5% (95% confidence interval [CI], 8.5%-25.0%). For anogenital HPV transmission, the male-to-female transmission rate (11.5 [95% CI, 4.3-30.7] per 1000 person-months) was similar to the female-to-male transmission rate (11.3 [95% CI, 5.9-21.7] per 1000 person-months). The concordance rates between male PGC site and female vaginal, vulvar, and PA sites were 20.0%, 21.8%, and 14.9%, respectively, which were significantly higher than expected by chance. Infections transmitted from males to females seemed mainly originated from male genital sites, whereas for female-to-male transmission, the vaginal, vulvar, and PA sites might be all involved.

CONCLUSIONS

Among the heterosexual couples with relatively conservative sexual behavior, the anogenital HPV transmission rate for females to males is similar to that of males to females. In addition to the vagina and vulva, the female PA site is also an important reservoir for HPV transmission.

Associations between the expression of SCCA, MTA1, P16, Ki-67 and the infection of high-risk HPV in cervical lesions

The application of detection technologies for human papillomavirus (HPV) has increased the resection rate for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and early cervical cancer types. However, a large number of patients still present with advanced cervical cancer upon diagnosis. Therefore, to find a marker for the early diagnosis of cervical cancer, the present study investigated the expression profiles of squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCCA), tumor metastasis related factor-1 (MTA1), the multiple tumor suppressor gene P16, and the nucleus-associated antigen Ki-67 in cervical lesions, and evaluated the association between the four proteins and the infection of high-risk (HR)-HPV in cervical lesions. The rate of SCCA expression gradually increased with the progression of cervical lesions, but the increase in SCCA expression levels from low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSIL) to high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions was not significant (P=0.197). The positive rate of MTA1 expression gradually increased with the development of cervical lesions, but the increase from chronic cervicitis to LSIL was not significant (P=0.258). The positive rates of P16 and Ki-67 expression exhibited significant increasing trends with the progression of cervical lesions. The expression ratio of SCCA between HR-HPV infection and non-infection groups was not statistically significant (P=0.38), but the expression ratios of MTA1, P16 and Ki-67 between HR-HPV infection and non-infection groups were statistically significant (P<0.05). These results demonstrated that the expression of SCCA, MTA1, P16 and Ki-67 increased gradually with the severity of cervical lesions. In addition, there was a positive association between the expression levels of MTA1, P16 and Ki-67 and the infection of HR-HPV in cervical lesions. Therefore, SCCA, MTA1, P16 and Ki-67 may be used to enhance the diagnostic accuracy for cervical lesions.

Profile of MeltPro® HPV test for human papillomavirus genotyping and cervical precancer screening

Introduction: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common viral infection of the reproductive tract. The persistent infection of high-risk HPV (hrHPV) is associated with cervical cancer. There exists a trend from no hrHPV genotyping, to partial and expanded hrHPV genotyping for the primary screening of cervical precancer. Areas covered: The authors first review HPV assays for screening use on the market. Then, they describe and compare the Zeesan MeltPro® HPV genotyping assay, a semi-automated full hrHPV genotyping assay working on a real-time PCR platform. Based on multicolor melting curve analysis, this assay allows individual identification of 14 hrHPV genotypes in a single reaction. Expert opinion: MeltPro® HPV genotyping assay provides a flexible choice for both high- and low-throughput screening. It is robust in diverse settings ranging from remote and underdeveloped areas to large screening centers. Extra merits such as low cost and ease-of-use would facilitate its implementation in cervical precancer screening, control, and prevention.

Cobas 4800 HPV detection in cervical samples of Polish women

Introduction

Long-term infection with human papillomavirus (HPV) is the cause of cervical cancer and its precursor – cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN). The presence of HPV infection can be presumed in more than 99% of cases of cervical cancer worldwide. The introduction of DNA testing for the presence of HPV has increased the effectiveness of screening programs for the detection of this cancer. This study aimed to analyze the prevalence of high risk HPV DNA (HR HPV) in females from Poland.

Material and methods

The study was performed on 280 cervical smear samples. In this work we used the Roche Cobas 4800 HPV test to detect the HR HPV in cervical smear samples.

Results

56 patients (20%) proved to be positive regarding HPV-16 DNA and 40 patients (14.28%) regarding HPV-18 DNA. In overall assessment, in 94 patients (33.57%) we detected oncogenic HPV subtypes, other than the two mentioned above. In 90 patients (32.14%) no high risk HPV was detected.

Conclusions

The Roche Cobas 4800 HPV test is a viable, effective, easy and quick tool in detecting high risk HPV DNA.