Human papillomavirus genotypes among women with or without HIV infection: an epidemiological study of Moroccan women from the Souss area

Awareness, Knowledge and Attitude Regarding Cervical Cancer among Women Living with HIV in the Souss-Massa Region, Southern Morocco: A Cross-Sectional Study

BACKGROUND

Human immunodeficiency virus- positive women have an increased risk of precancerous lesions and invasive cervical cancer. This study aims to identify the level of awareness/knowledge and attitudes toward cervical cancer among women living with Human immunodeficiency virus in the region of Souss-Massa in southern Morocco.  Methods: This is a multicenter cross-sectional study conducted in the Souss-Massa region (southern Morocco) among women attending Human immunodeficiency virus treatment and care centers between March 2022 and September 2022. A questionnaire was used for data collection. The Chi-square test and logistic regression were deployed to identify factors associated with cervical cancer awareness among the target population.

RESULTS

A total of 494 respondents to the questionnaire, 440 (89.1%) are aware of cervical cancer. Nevertheless, 405 (82.0%) and 369 (74.7%) were unaware of cervical cancer risk factors and symptoms, respectively. Only 125 (25.3%) knew the exact frequency of cervical cancer screening among Human immunodeficiency virus positive women, whereas 221 (44.7%) had ever been tested for cervical cancer. Factors associated with women's awareness of cervical cancer are as follows:  level of education (adjusted Odds Ratio = 3.78 with 95% CI, 1.23-11.65), time since diagnosis of Human immunodeficiency virus (adjusted Odds Ratio = 4.31 with 95% CI, 1.12- 16.52), knowledge of women with cervical cancer (adjusted Odds Ratio = 6.30 with 95% CI, 1.87-21.18) and heard the pap- smear/visual inspection with acetic acid (adjusted Odds Ratio = 4.92 with 95% CI, 2.35-10.33).

CONCLUSION

The general knowledge of seropositive women regarding cervical cancer remains very low, which justifies the integration of cervical cancer prevention services with Human immunodeficiency virus care, and pinpoints the crucial role of patient education.

High-risk human papillomavirus genotype distribution among women living with HIV; implication for cervical cancer prevention in a resource limited setting

BACKGROUND

For women living with HIV (WLHIV), the burden of persistent HPV infection, cervical pre-cancerous lesions and cancer have been demonstrated to be higher than among HIV-negative women. As Ghana and other lower-middle-income countries (LMIC) work toward developing national cervical cancer programmes, it is essential that local scientific evidence be provided to guide policy decisions, especially for such special populations. The objective of this study was to determine the distribution of high-risk HPV genotype and related factors among WLHIV and its implication for the prevention of cervical cancer prevention efforts.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital in Ghana. WLHIV, aged 25-65 years, who met the eligibility criteria were recruited through a simple random sampling method. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to gather socio-demographic, behavioural, clinical and other pertinent information. The AmpFire HPV detection system (Atila BioSystem, Mointain View, CA was used to detect 15 high-risk HPV genotypes from self-collected cervico-vaginal samples. The data collected were exported to STATA 16.0 for statistical analysis.

RESULTS

In all, 330 study participants, with mean age of 47.2 years (SD ± 10.7), were involved. Most (69.1%, n = 188/272) had HIV viral loads < 1000 copies/ml and 41.2% (n = 136) had ever heard of cervical screening. The overall hr-HPV prevalence was 42.7% (n = 141, 95% CI 37.4-48.1) and the five commonest hr-HPV types among screen positives were HPV59 (50.4%), HPV18 (30.5%), HPV35 (26.2%), HPV58 (17%) and HPV45 (14.9%). Most infected women (60.3%, n = 85) had multiple hr-HPV infections, with about 57.4% (n = 81) having 2-5 h-HPV types, while 2.8% (n = 4) had more than five hr-HPV types. A total of 37.6% (n = 53) had HPV16 and/or18, while 66.0% (n = 93) had the hr-HPV genotypes covered by the nonavalent vaccine. Women with HIV viral load ≥ 1000copies/ml (AOR = 5.58, 95% CI 2.89-10.78, p < 0.001) had a higher likelihood of being co-infected.

CONCLUSION

This study found out that the prevalence of hr-HPV still remains high in women with HIV, with a notable occurrence of multiple infections and infection with genotypes 16 and/or18. Additionally, an association was established between hr-HPV and infection HIV viral load.. Therefore, comprehensive HIV care for these women should include awareness of cervical cancer, consideration of vaccination and implementation of screening and follow-up protocols. National programmes in LMIC, such as Ghana, should consider using HPV-based screen-triage-treat approach with partial genotyping.

Prevalence of high-risk human papillomavirus infections and associated factors among women living with HIV in Shashemene town public health facilities, Southern Ethiopia

BACKGROUND

Every year, large number of women are suffering from cervical cancer. Particularly women living with HIV are at high-risk of being suffered with it. Early testing of high-risk human papillomavirus infection can significantly reduce the incidence of cervical cancer. However, lack of early and regular testing has been identified as one of the major problems among risky populations.

METHODS

Institutional-based cross-sectional study design was conducted among women living with HIV in Shashemene town public health facilities with a total sample size of 406 from February 1-March 30, 2022. Systematic random sampling technique was employed to select the study subjects. A structured questionnaire and checklist was used to collect data. The collected data were cleaned, coded, and entered into Epi-info version 7.2.5 and exported to statistical package for social science version 24 for analysis. Finally, bi-variable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to identify determinants of high-risk human papillomavirus. Odds ratio with 95% confidence interval was used to test association between exposure and outcome under study and p-value < 0.05 was considered significant.

RESULTS

The prevalence of high-risk HPV infections among study participant was 173(35.2%) with 95% CI (30.5%-40.1%). Prevalence of high-risk HPV type 16, 18 and other high-risk HPV types were 62(15.3%), 23(5.7%) and 58(14.3%), respectively. Having history of sexually transmitted infections [AOR = 3.120; 95% CI (1.977-4.923)], Endline CD4 count < 200 cells/mm3 [AOR = 3.072; 95% CI(1.009-9.350)], Endline HIV viral-load ≥ 50 copies/ml [AOR = 3.446; 95% CI(1.368-8.683)] and more than one-lifetime sexual partner [AOR = 2.112; 95% CI(1.297-3.441)] were significantly associated with high-risk HPV infections.

CONCLUSION

More than one third of women living with HIV had high-risk HPV. Having history of STI, low CD4 count, high viral load and multiple sexual partners were associated with high risk HPV. HIV positive women with these risk factors should be given special consideration in clinical and public health intervention.

Meta-synthesis and science mapping analysis of HIV/HPV co-infection: a global perspective with emphasis on Africa

Background

Viral infections are emerging with diverse clinical relevance both in endemic environments and non-endemic regions of the world. Some of the viruses cause co-infections that are of public health importance. The progress of studies on human immunodeficiency virus / Human papillomavirus (HIV/HPV) co-infection is not well documented especially in Africa where cases are endemic.

Method

Using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, we conducted a global three-decade meta-synthesis and science mapping analysis on HIV/HPV co-infections. Assessment of progress, Author/Country productivity/trends, topic conceptual framework, and international collaborative networks were analyzed.

Results

We recovered 196 documents of 115 sources from the web of science database. The meta-synthesis revealed 1203 prolific authors containing nine solo authors, an annual growth rate of 8.09%, a significant average citation per article of 20.7%, and an average citation per year per document of 2.1. A significant high correlation between the mean/TC per article and the mean total citation (TC) per year showed 80.98% of the articles produced between 2005 and 2007 on HPV/HIV co-infection. The co-author per document index were 7.0 and the collaboration index was 6.4. The meta-analysis also revealed inadequate funding from individual or governmental organizations; among the 196 documents dataset, 114 (58.2%) were funded, and only 31 (15.8%) were funded in Africa where HIV/HPV co-infection cases are endemic.

Conclusions

Authors’ collaboration network, countries’ collaboration, authors’ citations and implementation of research-based finding in previous studies are yet to receive the relevant outcome, especially as various countries in the African continent have received poor funding with a repeated reporting of co-infection associated with HIV/HPV. African needs to re-awaken and stir up research-based interest in HPV/HIV co-infection studies to resolve indigenous public health concerns associated with the viral endemicity.

Anal human papillomavirus infection among men who have sex with men and transgender women living with and without HIV in Pakistan: findings from a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of infection, genotypes and risk factors for human papillomavirus (HPV) among men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women living with and without HIV in Pakistan. Anal infection with HPV is very common worldwide among MSM, particularly among MSM living with HIV. The high prevalence of HIV among MSM and male-to-female transgendered individuals in Pakistan is a significant health concern since access to screening and health-seeking is often delayed in this stigmatised key population.

DESIGN

This cross-sectional study was conducted between March 2016 and November 2017.

PARTICIPANTS, SETTING AND DATA COLLECTION

This study recruited MSM and transgender-women who self-reported to have had anal sex in the last 6 months, and were at least 18 years of age, from the sexual health and antiretroviral therapy centres. Structured questionnaires were administered, and blood samples were obtained to confirm HIV status. Anal swabs were collected for HPV-DNA detection and typing.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

The primary outcome was the prevalence of 'HPV-DNA infection'. The prevalence ratios (PR) were calculated using Cox proportional hazard model algorithms to analyse the association between exposure variables and HPV-infection.

RESULTS

Complete data were available for 298 MSM and transgender women (HIV +n=131; HIV-n=167). The overall HPV-DNA prevalence was 65.1% and was higher in participants living with HIV as compared with HIV-negative (87% vs 48%; χ²p≤0.001). Likewise, 28.9% of participants living with HIV were infected with two or more than two types of HPV as compared with 18.8% participants without HIV(χ² p≤0.001). The most frequent HPV type was HPV6/11 (46.9%), followed by HPV16 (35.1%), HPV18 (23.2%) and HPV35 (21.1%). HIV status (PR 2.81, 95% CI 2.16 to 3.82) and never condom use (PR 3.08, 95% CI 1.69 to 5.60)) were independently associated with prevalence of 'anal-HPV16 infection' when adjusting for confounding for age, other sexual and behavioural factors, for example, smoking and alcohol consumption.

CONCLUSION

High prevalence of HPV indicates a substantial future risk of anal cancer in Pakistani MSM and transgender women, and particularly in those living with HIV. Current findings support anal Pap-smear HPV screening for this particular group and vaccination efforts for future generations.

Prevalence of high-risk HPV genotypes in sub-Saharan Africa according to HIV status: a 20-year systematic review

OBJECTIVES

This review assessed the rate of high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infection among women living in sub-Saharan Africa. It also determined the prevalence of high-risk HPV (hrHPV) among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) seropositive (HIV+) and seronegative (HIV-) women in sub-Saharan Africa, pre-2010 and post-2010.

METHODS

In this systematic review, Google Scholar, PubMed Central, and Embase were searched to identify cohort and case-control studies that investigated the relationship between HIV and HPV infection. The database searches yielded 17 studies published between 1999 and 2018.

RESULTS

In the general population, the prevalence of any HPV/multiple HPV infections was higher among HIV+ (53.6/22.6%) than among HIV- women (26.5/7.3%) with odds ratios of 3.22 and 3.71, respectively (95% confidence interval, 3.00 to 3.42 and 2.39 to 5.75, p<0.001). The prevalent HPV genotypes among HIV+ and HIV- women diagnosed with invasive cervical cancer (ICC) were HPV-16/18 and HPV-45. The prevalence of HPV-16, HPV-18, and HPV-45 was lower in 1999-2010 (3.8, 1.7, and 0.8%, respectively) than in 2011-2018 (19.1, 6.0, and 3.6%, respectively). Among women diagnosed with ICC, HIV+ women had a higher prevalence of HPV-56, HPV-31, and HPV-51 (7.3, 5.3, and 3.3%, respectively) than HIV- women (1.3, 2.2, and 0.4%, p<0.001, p=0.050, and p=0.013, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

The prevalence of HPV infection, multiple HPV infections, and non-vaccine HPV types were higher among HIV+ women than among HIV- women in sub-Saharan Africa. Although HIV infection influences the distribution of HPV types, this study suggests that cervical cancer incidence in sub-Saharan Africa is primarily driven by the prevalence of vaccine hrHPVs, especially HPV-16 and HPV-18.

A rigorous exploration of anal HPV genotypes using a next-generation sequencing (NGS) approach in HIV-infected men who have sex with men at risk for developing anal cancer

BACKGROUND

There are no HPV-based measures for managing anal cancer (AC) in HIV-infected (HIV+) men who have sex with men (MSM) because of the high positivity of high-risk (HR)-HPVs. As next-generation sequencing (NGS) is able to describe the composition of HPVs as percent (%) reads rather than positive vs negative results, we used NGS approach to detect HPVs in anal samples of HIV+ MSM to test its ability to differentiate those who are diagnosed with atypical squamous cells of unknown significance or greater (ASCUS+) from those who are free of such lesions and to understand the burden of HPV infections in relation to HPV vaccines.

METHODS

Study included 81 HIV+ MSM characterized for demographics, patient-reported outcome measures, HIV related laboratory measures and anal cytology. We summarized NGS HPV data using % read cut points (>0%->30%) and tested the relationship between % reads of HR-HPVs and risk of ASCUS+ using logistic regression.

RESULTS

Forty-six HPVs were detected at the >0% read cut point. The prevalence of any HR-HPVs varied from 100% to 40% with >0% to >30% reads while ≥99% were infected with HR-HPVs included or not included in the 9 valent HPV vaccine at the >0% read cut point. MSM with >30% HR-HPV reads were 4.5 times more likely to be diagnosed with ASCUS+ compared to ≤30% reads (P = .033).

CONCLUSION

NGS-based approach is more accurate than PCR-based HPV testing for identifying HIV+ MSM at risk for developing AC. We raise the concern regarding the efficacy of current HPV vaccines for preventing AC in this high-risk population.

Systematic review and meta-analysis of human papillomavirus prevalence and types among women with normal cervical cytology in the Eastern Mediterranean Region

Aim: To predict the impact of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMRO), knowing the prevalence and type distribution of HPV are mandatory. Methods: This study investigated 26,536 women with normal cervical cytology based on the data available from 13 countries of EMRO. Results: The HPV prevalence estimated to be 9.3% (CI = 7.1–12.0). The five most frequent HPV types were HPV 16 (2.3%), 18 (0.7%), 6 (0.7%), 11 (0.6%) and 31 (0.5%). The prevalence of multiple infections of HPV was observed in 1.6% of all cases. Conclusion: The present meta-analysis provides a comprehensive summary of HPV type distribution in normal cervical cytology in EMRO region to estimate and predict the impact of HPV vaccines.

[Cervical cancer: Current situation and management in Morocco]

With more than 3300 new cases and almost 2500 deaths each year, cervical cancer (CC) ranks second among female cancers in Moroccan women. The majority of cases occurs in women aged 50 and over. In absence of a national cancer registry, data published in Morocco are limited to the number of cases recorded in some oncology centers, so the incidence of this cancer is likely much higher than estimated. A Moroccan national program against CC based on the practice of visual inspection after application of acetic acid was set up in 2010, allowing both screening and possibly immediate treatment of (pre)cancerous lesions. However, this program has not been implemented in all regions of the country. The CC develops slowly and most often without any symptoms, and so it is diagnosed at an advanced stage of the disease. Virtually, all CC are associated with persistent infection of high risk human papillomavirus (HPV), particularly HPV16 and 18. For more than ten years, two prophylactic vaccines targeting these two HPV genotypes have been marketed. They have proved their excellent immunogenicity and efficacy and they are well tolerated. However, HPV vaccine is not yet recommended by health authorities in Morocco. In this literature review, we focused on the current situation of CC, the prevalence of HPV infection and the prevention strategies against CC in Morocco.

A Meta-Analysis on Human Papillomavirus Type Distribution among Women with Cervical Neoplasia in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region

INTRODUCTION

To date, the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine has not been integrated into the national vaccination program of most countries of the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMRO), except for the United Arab Emirates and Libya. The knowledge of HPV genotype distribution in cervical neoplasia is valuable to predict the impact of current HPV vaccines on cancer prevention and can help the health policymakers to select the most appropriate vaccine types in their countries.

METHODS

Hence, this meta-analysis recapitulates all available data on HPV prevalence and genotypes in women with atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS), cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) I-III or low- and high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSIL and HSIL, respectively), and invasive cervical cancer (ICC) in EMRO countries.

RESULTS

The meta-analysis included 5,990 cases of cervical precancer and cancer. The overall HPV prevalence was 85.4, 71.3, 59.2, and 34.8% in women with ICC, CIN II-III or HSIL, CIN I or LSIL, and ASCUS, respectively. HPV 16 was the most common genotype followed by HPV 18, representing 58 and 16.5% in ICC cases, respectively.

CONCLUSION

This meta-analysis showed that the introduction of current HPV vaccines into national vaccination programs and the establishment of comprehensive screening programs in EMRO countries is beneficial by preventing 74.5% of cervical neoplasia.

Awareness of cervical cancer among women attending an HIV treatment centre: a cross-sectional study from Morocco

OBJECTIVE

To explore awareness about cervical cancer among Moroccan women attending an HIV treatment centre in Laâyoune city, Morocco.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional study was conducted from April to June 2017 using a knowledge test regarding cervical cancer, its risk factors and its prevention.

SETTING

HIV treatment centre at the Hospital of Moulay Hassan Ben Elmehdi in Laâyoune city, Morocco.

PARTICIPANTS

One hundred and twenty-three HIV-positive women aged 19 years and older were recruited to this study.

RESULTS

A total of 115 women were eligible to participate in the study. The average age was 34.9±10.2 years. Few women (20%) had heard about cervical cancer and its screening, the majority (17.4%) having received information from mass media. The vast majority (79.1%) of respondents had no knowledge of cervical cancer risk factors, and 80.8% did not know any symptoms of cervical cancer. Only 13% had undergone a Pap smear test. The main reason for not seeking Pap smear was the absence of symptoms (47%).

CONCLUSION

Our study documents poor awareness of cervical cancer. Given that the HIV-positive population is at increased risk of cervical cancer, health education programmes should be promoted to increase awareness of cervical cancer as well as access and participation in cervical cancer screening.

HPV genotypes detected by linear array and next-generation sequencing in anal samples from HIV positive men who have sex with men in Mexico

The incidence of anal cancer has been rising, especially in HIV+ patients and has been associated with HPV infection. HIV+ patients are more at risk of HPV coinfection and are seven times more likely to have persistent HPV infection; moreover, HIV+ men have an increased risk of developing anal cancer compared to HIV+ women. The development of screening strategies for the detection of HPV in HIV+ men is of major importance; however, there is not enough information about the HPV genotypes and variants that are colonizing the anal epithelia of HIV+ men in diverse geographical regions. Therefore, this work was aimed at identifying HPV genotypes present in the anal epithelium of HIV+ men who have sex with men (MSM), with or without anal lesions (n = 75). For HPV genotyping, two approaches were performed: Linear Array HPV Genotyping Test and next-generation sequencing (NGS). In general, the six most frequent HPV genotypes found by Linear Array were HPV6, 62, 61, 81, 16 and 51. On the other hand, employing NGS, a total of 36 HPV genotypes belonging to both alpha and beta genera were found. The genotypes with the greatest number of reads, according to the diagnostic group, were: HPV81, 45, 6, 51 and 61 in MSM without anal lesions (WAIN); HPV6, 61, 70, 62 and 66 in MSM with atypical lesions (AAL); HPV6, 11, 66, 81 and 61 in MSM with anal intraepithelial neoplasia grade I (AIN I); and HPV16, 81, 58, 61 and 52 with AIN III. Additionally, a great diversity of L1 variants was observed, especially in genotypes HPV16, 58, 61, 52, 45 and 59.

Prevalence of and Associated Risk Factors for High Risk Human Papillomavirus among Sexually Active Women, Swaziland

BACKGROUND

High risk human papillomavirus (hr-HPV) infection and the dual burden of HIV remains a huge challenge in some low-income countries (LICs) such as Swaziland with limited or no data. We estimated the prevalence and investigated determinants of hr-HPV, including HIV infection among sexually active women in Swaziland.

METHODS

A total of 655 women aged between 15 and 49 years from five health facilities were randomly enrolled using a cross-sectional study design. Cervical cells were tested for hr-HPV types using GeneXpert HPV Assays.

RESULTS

The overall weighted hr-HPV prevalence was 46.2% (95%CI: 42.8-49.5). Of hr-HPV infected women, 12.4% (95%CI: 8.6-17.5) were HPV16-positive, 13.8% (95%CI:12.0-15.8) were positive for HPV18/45, 26.7% (95%CI: 24.2-29.3) for HPV31/33/35/52/58, 7.6% (95%CI: 7.6-11.9) for HPV51/59 and 11.0%, (95%CI: 7.9-15.3) for HPV39/56/66/68. Prevalence of hr-HPV decreased with increasing age. Overall HIV prevalence remained high (42.7%; 95%CI: 35.7-46.2). HIV infection was associated with hr-HPV infection (Adjusted OR = 4.9, 95%CI: 3.043-7.8, p<0.001). Overall hr-HPV/HIV co-infection was 24.4% (95%CI: 20.3-29.1) which was significantly higher among younger age groups (p<0.001). Prevalence of multiple group hr-HPV infection was significantly higher in HIV-positive versus -negative women (27.7% and 12.7% respectively, p<0.001). The presence, absence or unknown of history of STI with HIV did not appear to modify the relationship with hr-HPV (OR = 4.2, 95%CI: 2.6-7.1, OR = 4.6, 95%CI: 2.8-7.7, p<0.001, p<0.001 and OR = 4.1, 95%CI: 1.3-13.4, p<0.021 respectively).

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of hr-HPV infection was high and significantly associated with HIV among sexually active women. Furthermore, the study has provided essential information about the HIV link with hr-HPV infections which may explain the high prevalence among HIV infected women. This can contribute to policy development and planning of prevention strategies incorporating HPV infection prevention especially among youth and HIV infected people.