Prevalence of HPV-DNA and anti-HPV antibodies in women from Girardot, Colombia.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the frequency of HPV-DNA detection, human papillomavirus (HPV) seropositivity, presence of cervical lesions, and its relationship with certain socio-demographic factors in women from Girardot, Colombia from 2006 to 2007.

METHODS: Nine hundred fifty-three women attending their regular Pap smear control voluntarily provided cervical cells and blood samples for HPV-DNA analysis and ELISA detection of anti-L1 peptides and virus-like particles (VLPs) antibodies after answering a questionnaire regarding sexual behaviors, number of births, smoking habits, and socio-demographic background.

RESULTS: Twenty-six of the 953 women being examined (2.73%) presented cervical cell abnormalities. A frequency of 36.62% (95% CI: 33.52%-39.7%) HPV seropositivity was detected with peptide 18301, 35.36% (95% CI: 32.3%-38.4%) with 18283, and 32.95% (95% CI: 29.9%-36%) with 18294, whereas VLPs detected a 43% seropositivity (95% CI: 39.8%-46.2%). Antibody frequency found with all peptides was significantly higher in women having cervical abnormalities (atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance and high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions) compared with those having normal cytologies. Peptide 18283 reported a significantly higher seropositivity (35.71%) in women >44 years old, whereas peptides 18301 and 18294 evidenced a significantly lower seropositivity in those who had never given birth. HR-HPV-DNA was detected in 157 (20.50%) of 766 cervical samples amplifying positively for the beta-globin housekeeping gene.

CONCLUSION: Peptides 18283, 18294, and 18301 were more specific and more sensitive than VLPs for detecting women with HR-HPV-DNA positive cervical lesions. Therefore, they could be useful in the design of a serological test for detecting HR-HPV-infected women having cervical lesions at a risk of progressing to cervical cancer.