Prevalence and Genotype Distribution of High-Risk HPV Genotypes Among Women in Greece: A Retrospective Analysis of 3500 Women
by
, , , , and
Dimitris Tsakogiannis
1,*,
Eleni Zografos
2,
Lamprini Tzioga
1,
Constantinos G. Zografos
3,
Flora Zagouri
2 and
Garyfalia Bletsa
1,* 1
Research Center, Hellenic Anticancer Institute, 10680 Athens, Greece
2
Department of Clinical Therapeutics, General Hospital Alexandra, 11528 Athens, Greece
3
A’ Surgery Department, Laiko General University Hospital of Athens, 11527 Athina, Greece
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Cancers 2025, 17(8), 1267; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers17081267
Submission received: 27 February 2025
/
Revised: 31 March 2025
/
Accepted: 5 April 2025
/
Published: 9 April 2025
(This article belongs to the Section Cancer Therapy)
Simple Summary
Prevention programs have successfully reduced cervical cancer incidences. However, cervical disease remains a public health issue. Long-term infection with high-risk HPV genotypes is the main risk factor for the onset of cervical cancer. Therefore, epidemiological studies concerning high-risk HPV distribution are important for the development of effective prevention strategies to better address cervical cancer burden. The present analysis provides current epidemiological data regarding high-risk HPV infection rates and the distribution of HR-HPV genotypes in women in Greece. The outcomes from the present analysis highlight the importance of HPV testing and vaccination in the Greek population. It is anticipated that the differences observed in high-risk HPV prevalence among various geographic regions and even among different age groups reflect the need to design novel and population-specific prevention tools in order to further eliminate cervical cancer in the future.
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Persistent infection with high-risk (HR) HPV genotypes is the main risk factor for the development of cervical cancer. The present analysis provides recent trends on HR-HPV infection rates and the distribution of HR-HPV genotypes among 3500 Greek women between 2021 and 2023. Methods: The detection of HR-HPVs and the specific identification of HPV16 and HPV18 were conducted using the Roche Cobas 4800 HPV assay. The genotyping of 12 other HR-HPV genotypes was performed through the Nested Multiplex PCR methodology (NMPCR). Results: The overall infection rate was 8.8% with the most prevalent HR-HPV genotype being HPV16 followed by HPV31, HPV66, HPV56, HPV51, HPV58, HPV45, HPV18, HPV68, HPV59, HPV52, HPV35, HPV39, and HPV33. Among HR-HPV-positive cases the prevalence of single, double, triple, and quadruple infections was 73.9%, 19.9%, 5.5%, and 0.7%, respectively. Age-specific analysis showed that the HR-HPV infection rate was higher in the age group of 31–35 years (25.5%) and it was estimated that multiple infections occur more often in younger women. Notably, the distribution of HR-HPV genotypes varies among different age groups. It is proposed that HPV16, HPV31, HPV56, and HPV66 may show an increased possibility of establishing long-term infections in Greek women over 36 years old. Conclusions: The high rates of specific HR-HPVs which are not included in the prophylactic vaccines underlines the significance of constant surveillance of circulating HPVs in the Greek population.
