Characteristic of persistent human papillomavirus infection in women worldwide: a meta-analysis

The influencing factors in intention making-decision of Human papillomavirus vaccine in Chinese college students: A qualitative study

OBJECTIVE

College students are considered as a high-risk age group for contracting HPV. HPV vaccines are proved to play a major role in preventing Cervical cancer and related cancers among both men and women. This study aimed to explore influencing factors in intention making-decision of Human papillomavirus vaccine in Chinese college students.

METHODS

A descriptive qualitative research based on naturalistic inquiry in Daqing City, Heilong Jiang Province from October to November 2022 was conducted. Semi-structured interviews with Chinese college students. We used thematic framework analysis with NVivo 12.0 software to transcribe and analyze the interview recordings.

RESULTS

We conducted 20 in-depth interviews. Four main themes with 14 subthemes were identified: (a) potential risks of HPV infection; (b) susceptibility factors of HPV infection; (c) difficulties in HPV vaccination; (d) decision support for HPV vaccination.

CONCLUSION

Most college students expressed hesitancy toward receiving the HPV vaccine. The government should strengthen the advocacy of the benefits of the vaccine to increase the HPV vaccination rate.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Healthcare providers and the government should take some strategies to promote facilitate factors to increase HPV vaccination rates.

Longitudinal Screening for Oral High-Risk Non-HPV16 and Non-HPV18 Strains of Human Papillomavirus Reveals Increasing Prevalence among Adult and Pediatric Biorepository Samples: A Pilot Study

Most high-risk oral human papillomavirus research has focused on prevalent HPV16 and HPV18, with fewer studies focused on other high-risk strains incorporated into the nine-valent HPV vaccine. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the oral prevalence of non-HPV16 and non-HPV18 high-risk strains. A total of n = 251 existing biorepository saliva samples were screened using validated primers and qPCR. A total of n = 72 samples tested positive for HPV, including HPV31, HPV33, HPV35, HPV52, and HPV58. In addition, there were also significant increases in the prevalence of these high-risk strains (2011-2014, 21.3%) following the nine-valent HPV vaccine's introduction (2015-2019, 36.2%). However, the distribution of HPV-positive samples was nearly equal among males and females (52.8%, 47.2%, respectively, p = 0.5485), although the majority (66.7%) of the HPV-positive samples were within the HPV vaccination age (11 to 26 years) or catch-up range (27 to 45 years). These data demonstrated that the prevalence of high-risk oral HPV may be higher than anticipated, highly concentrated among patients within the recommended vaccination age range, and may be increasing over time-providing new evidence and support for the nine-valent HPV vaccine that covers these additional high-risk HPV strains.

Prevalence and genotype distribution of human papillomavirus infection among 66000 women from 2014 to 2023 in the plateau region of Southwest China

BACKGROUND

Persistent infection with high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) plays a key role in the onset of cervical cancer. This study was designed to examine the epidemiological trends and genotype distribution of HPV from 2014 to 2023 in the plateau region of Southwest China.

METHODS

The findings could offer valuable insights for clinical screening of cervical cancer and the formulation of HPV vaccination policies. This retrospective study analyzed 66,000 women who received HPV-DNA testing at the First People's Hospital of Qujing, Yunnan, China, between 2014 and 2023. The cohort consisted of 33,512 outpatients, 3,816 inpatients, and 28,672 individuals undergoing health examinations. Cervical cells were collected for DNA extraction, and PCR amplification along with Luminex xMAP technology were used to detect 27 HPV genotypes. The data analysis was conducted using GraphPad Prism and IBM SPSS Statistics 27 software.

RESULTS

The overall HPV infection rate at the First People's Hospital of Qujing declined from 24.92% in 2014 to 16.29% in 2023, averaging 16.02%. Specific infection rates were 18.50% among outpatients, 12.97% among inpatients, and 13.53% for health examination attendees. The predominant high-risk HPV genotypes identified were HPV52 (2.61%), HPV16 (2.06%), HPV58 (1.81%), HPV53 (1.55%), and HPV39 (1.09%). Meanwhile, the most frequent low-risk HPV genotypes were HPV6 (1.30%), HPV61 (1.21%), and HPV11 (0.85%). In HPV-positive cases, the distribution of single, double, triple, and quadruple or more infections were 79.90%, 15.17%, 3.59%, and 1.33%, respectively. The proportions of pure LR-HPV, pure HR-HPV, and mixed infections were 22.16%, 67.82%, and 10.02%, respectively. Age-specific analysis revealed a bimodal distribution of HPV infection, with the infection rate rapidly decreasing from 44.02% in the ≤ 19 age group to 19.55% in the 20-29 age group and 13.84% in the 30-39 age group, followed by a gradual increase to 14.64% in the 40-49 age group, 16.65% in the 50-59 age group, and 22.98% in the ≥ 60 age group. The coverage rates of the three available vaccines are all below 50%. The results of this study indicated a declining trend in HPV prevalence in the plateau region of Southwest China over the period from 2014 to 2023, especially in the reduction of genotypes targeted by vaccines.

CONCLUSION

There were significant variations in the genotypes prevalent among different age groups, years, and patient sources within the same region. The underwhelming vaccination rates emphasize the critical need for developing either a multivalent vaccine or a personalized vaccine that targets the HPV genotypes common in the Chinese population. Furthermore, vaccinating adolescents to curb HPV infection and ensuring regular cervical cancer screenings for postmenopausal women are crucial steps.

History of HPV in HPV-positive elderly women

Background

The aim of this study was to examine the natural course of HPV infection in women of 60 years and older who were HPV positive at inclusion, and any association between HPV positivity in historical samples and dysplasia outcome.

Methods

Eighty-nine women aged 60-82 years, who tested positive for HPV between 2012 and 2016 were included. Sampling for cytology and/or histology was also performed. HPV genotyping was carried out on archived material back to 1999.

Results

Of the 89 HPV-positive women 16 had HSIL, 34 had LSIL and 39 were benign at inclusion. Of the women with HSIL, 50.0% had the same HPV type in the archive samples, 12.5% had another type, and 37.5% were HPV negative. Among the 34 women with LSIL, 47.1% had the same HPV type in archive samples, 5.8% had another type, and 47.1% were HPV negative. Of the 39 women without dysplasia at inclusion, 25.6% had the same HPV type in archive samples, 5.1% had another HPV type and 69.2% were HPV negative.

Conclusion

Surprisingly few of the elderly women thus seem to have a history with the same or any HPV infection the years before being diagnosed with an HPV infection and dysplasia. The significance of an HPV infection for dysplasia development in elderly women is still not fully understood.

The Micro-Immunotherapy Medicine 2LPAPI® Displays Immune-Modulatory Effects in a Model of Human Papillomavirus Type-16 L1-Protein Capsid-Treated Human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells and Antiproliferative Effects in a Model of Cervical Cancer Cells

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the second most common infectious agent causing cancer. Persistent infection with high-risk (HR)-HPV can lead to cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia and cervical carcinomas (CC). While host immune response is necessary for viral clearance, chronic immune activation contributes to a low-grade inflammation that can ultimately lead to carcinogenesis. The micro-immunotherapy medicine (MIM) 2LPAPI® could be a valuable tool to manage the clearance of the virus and reduce the risk of developing CC. In this in vitro study, we aimed to investigate its mode of action. We showed that actives from the MIM increased the IL-6, IFN-γ, and IP-10 secretion in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) exposed to peptides derived from the HPV-16 capsid (HPV16(L1)). This could reflect an increase in the immune activity toward HPV-16. At the same time, some active substances reduced the lympho-proliferation and the expression of T-cell activation markers. Finally, some of the MIM actives displayed antiproliferative effects in CC-derived HeLa cells under serum-starvation conditions. Altogether, this body of data highlighted for the first time the dual effect of MIM in the framework of HR-HPV infections as a potential (i) immune modulator of HPV16(L1)-treated PBMCs and (ii) antiproliferative agent of HPV-positive CC cells.