HPV Infection and Cervical Abnormalities in HIV Positive Women in Different Regions of Brazil, a Middle-Income Country

Sexually transmitted infections among women living with HIV in a Brazilian city

Background

Clinical improvements following highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) may increase high-risk behaviors resulting in sexually transmitted infections (STI). Optimism related to the success of HAART in slowing disease progression, reducing viral load, and improving health status might be important factors for increasing sexual risk behaviors such as less use of condoms.

Objective

To determine the prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, syphilis, hepatitis B and C, high-risk HPV, and cervical cytological abnormalities among women living with HIV (WLHIV) who attended a Reference Center for STI/AIDS in Brazil.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 151 WLHIV attending an STI Clinic in Vitória city, Brazil. A structured questionnaire, including demographic, behavioral, and clinical information, was used for data collection. Serological tests for HIV, syphilis, hepatitis C and B, CD4 counts, and viral load determination were performed. Cervical samples were collected for cytology and real-time PCR for HPV,Chlamydia, and Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

Results

In this study, 59% of women had at least one diagnosed STI at the time of the first clinic visit; 31% had clinical forms of anogenital HPV, 10% syphilis, 8%Neisseria gonorrhoeae, 5.0% trichomoniasis, 3% Chlamydia trachomatis, 1% hepatitis B, and 1% hepatitis C; 6.7% of the women presented with cervical cytological abnormalities. Furthermore, 46.3% of women had HR-HPV, and 17.6% had HPV 16/18. Only 5% of the women had a CD4 count <200 cells/mm³, 61.6% had undetectable HIV viral load, and 81.3% were currently on HAART.

Conclusion

A high prevalence of STI and HR-HPV infections were observed among HIV-infected women in this investigation. Prevention programs need to focus on counseling WLHIV and their regular partners with focused interventions such as couples counseling and education programs.

Molecular epidemiology of human papillomavirus among HIV infected women in developing countries: systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

Although, there is a variable burden of human papillomavirus (HPV) in women infected with HIV in developing countries, there are few studies that attempted to surmise such variable evidences. This review aimed to estimate the pooled prevalence of HPV genotype distribution and risk factors contributing to HPV infection among women infected with HIV in low- and middle-income countries.

Methods

We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies conducted in developing countries and reported HPV prevalence. We searched electronic databases: PubMed/Medline, SCOPUS, ScienceDirect, Excerpta Medical Database from Elsevier, Web of science, Cumulative Index of Nursing and allied Health Sciences and Google scholar databases to retrieve primary studies published in English language till 11th August 2019. We used random-effects model to estimate the pooled prevalence of HPV genotypes, and funnel plot to assess publication bias. The registration number of this review study protocol is CRD42019123549.

Results

We included nineteen studies with a total of 8,175 participants in this review. The prevalence of HPV was extremely heterogeneous across the studies (χ²₌ 3782.80, p value < 0.001, I² = 99.6%). The estimated pooled prevalence of all HPV genotypes was 63.0% (95% CI: 48.0–78.0) while the pooled prevalence of high risk and low risk HPV genotypes were 51.0% (95% CI: 38.0–63.0) and 28.0% (95% CI: 12.0–43.0), respectively. The pooled prevalence of HPV genotype 16 was 20%, while genotype 18 and 52 were 15% and 13%, respectively. Different risk factors reported for HPV infection and the frequently reported were low CD4 count below 200 cells/mm³ and high HIV viral load.

Conclusion

The pooled prevalence of HPV among HIV infected women in low- and middle-income countries was considerable and the proportion of high risk HPV genotypes were high when compared with low risk genotypes. Therefore, it is essential for the HPV prevention program to prevent the double burden of HPV and HIV in women.

Age, absolute CD4 count, and CD4 percentage in relation to HPV infection and the stage of cervical disease in HIV-1-positive women

A subgroup of women who are co-infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and human papillomavirus (HPV), progress rapidly to cervical disease. We characterized HPV genotypes within cervical tumor biopsies, assessed the relationships of cervical disease stage with age, HIV-1 status, absolute CD4 count, and CD4 percentage, and identified the predictive power of these variables for cervical disease stage in a cohort of South African women.We recruited 181 women who were histologically diagnosed with cervical disease; 87 were HIV-1-positive and 94 were HIV-1-seronegative. Colposcopy-directed tumor biopsies were confirmed by histology and used for genomic DNA extraction. The Roche Linear Array HPV genotyping test was used for HPV genotyping. Peripheral whole blood was used for HIV-1 rapid testing. Fully automated FC500MPL/CellMek with PanLeucogate (PLG) was used to determine absolute CD4 count, CD4 percentage, and CD45 count. Chi-squared test, a logistic regression model, parametric Pearson correlation, and ROC curves were used for statistical analyses. We used the Benjamini-Horchberg test to control for false discovery rate (FDR, q-value). All tests were significant when both P and q were <.05.Age was a significant predictor for invasive cervical cancer (ICC) in both HIV-1-seronegative (P < .0001, q < 0.0001) and HIV-1-positive women (P = .0003, q = 0.0003). Sixty eight percent (59/87) of HIV-1-positive women with different stages of cervical disease presented with a CD4 percentage equal or less than 28%, and a median absolute CD4 count of 400 cells/μl (IQR 300-500 cells/μl). Of the HIV-1-positive women, 75% (30/40) with ICC, possessed ≤28% CD4 cells vs 25% (10/40) who possessed >28% CD4 cells (both P < .001, q < 0.001). Furthermore, 70% (28/40) of women with ICC possessed CD4 count >350 compared to 30% (12/40) who possessed CD4 count ≤ 350 (both P < .001, q < 0.001).Age is an independent predictor for ICC. In turn, development of ICC in HIV-1-positive women is independent of the host CD4 cells and associates with low CD4 percentage regardless of absolute CD4 count that falls within the normal range. Thus, using CD4 percentage may add a better prognostic indicator of cervical disease stage than absolute CD4 count alone.

Clinical implications of the interaction between HPV and HIV infections

HIV-related immunodeficiency has complex effects on female genital HPV, which include increased risks of infection, multiple types, persistence, reactivation and the risk to develop pre-invasive and invasive disease. Reconstitution of immunity with anti-viral drugs improves cellular immunity, but the risk of HPV-related malignancy remains higher than background incidences and presents at younger ages. Early initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) allows improved retention of immune memory through existing antibodies and T-cell clones and improves long-term outcomes. Suggestions of a higher risk to contract HIV if there is existing genital HPV infection are supported and explained by pathophysiological cervical changes, including inflammation. HIV-HPV interactions should influence public health decisions towards prioritising large-scale prepubertal HPV-vaccine roll-out, secondary cervical cancer prevention and early detection programmes for HIV-infected women and early initiation of ART. This chapter will also focus on special considerations for the management of women with co-infection with these two viruses and genital HPV-related diseases.