Call for HPV screening after link to cancer found
SCIENTISTS are calling for screening programmes to incorporate HPV tests after it was discovered that the infection can lead to cervical cancer.
A new study has found that women who tested positive for certain HPV types but had no cell abnormalities were at higher risk of cervical cancer – the most common cancer in British women under 35.
HPV16 and HPV18 types were responsible for most cases which led to the new, sensitive tests for the HPV infection to identify women at higher risk of cervical cancer.
It comes 10 years after the HPV vaccine was introduced for girls aged between 12 and 18 to help protect them against the disease and researchers said the findings may help refine screening guidelines.
Lead investigator Professor Sonia Andersson, from the Karolinska University Hospital and Institute in Sweden, said: “These findings can help in the ongoing development of guidelines for cervical cancer screening.
“They strongly indicate that testing for HPV needs to be incorporated into screening programmes.”
Researchers used liquid-based “cytology” tests – similar to the Pap smear – to determine the risk women face if they test positive for HPV but their cervical cells show now signs of being cancerous.
Cervical samples from 576 women were tested retroactively for HPV, and they initially produced normal results from the liquid-based test.
The HPV infection was much more common among the 16 per cent of the women (92) who developed highgrade pre-cancerous cervical changes over a nine-year period.
Four women developed cervical cancer. The remaining 480 women continued to have normal findings in follow-up cervical cytology tests.
In women under 30, only HPV16 and HPV18 were present significantly among those who developed highgrade pre-cancerous cervical changes compared with the 480 who did not.
These HPV types were therefore associated with an increased risk of cervical cancer.
Other HPV types, in addition to HPV16 and HPV18 showed, significant risk for women aged 30 and above.
Prof Andersson said: “Women younger than 30 with a positive HPV16 or HPV18 finding need to be closely followed, whereas other HPV types are much less likely to be associated with increased risk in these younger women.”