Prevalence of human papillomavirus types in cervical and oral cancers in central India

Cervical cancer that is associated with high-risk human papillomaviruses (HPV) is the most common malignancy in Indian women. Therefore, the establishment of a prevention program is urgently required considering both vaccination and screening. However, relatively little is known about the prevalence of the different HPV types in cervical cancers in different regions of India, particularly central India. In this study, we have determined the HPV type distribution in 180 cervical cancers of women from Sevagram, a rural area from central India. In addition, we have analyzed other epithelial cancers that are known to be in part associated with high-risk HPV infection, i.e. oral (n = 65), vulva and vagina (n = 7) and penis (n = 7). Approximately 93% of cervical cancers were positive for one or more of the high-risk HPV types. HPV16 was the predominant type being present in 81.7% of the cases. The remaining most predominant high-risk HPV types were: 18, 31, 35, 45, 56 and 59. Oral and vulva/vagina cancers were exclusively associated with HPV16, 27.7% and 70%, respectively. None of penile cancers was found positive for any of the high-risk HPV types.These data show that HPV16 vaccination in this geographical region will have considerable impact on the prevention of cervical and other epithelial cancers.