Human papillomavirus prevalence and type‐distribution in cervical glandular neoplasias: Results from a E uropean multinational epidemiological study

• Published in: International journal of cancer Vol. 137; no. 12; pp. 2858 - 2868
• Main Authors: Holl, Katsiaryna, Nowakowski, Andrzej M., Powell, Ned, McCluggage, W. Glenn, Pirog, Edyta C., Collas De Souza, Sabrina, Tjalma, Wiebren A., Rosenlund, Mats, Fiander, Alison, Castro Sánchez, Maria, Damaskou, Vasileia, Joura, Elmar A., Kirschner, Benny, Koiss, Robert, O'Leary, John, Quint, Wim, Reich, Olaf, Torné, Aureli, Wells, Michael, Rob, Lukas, Kolomiets, Larisa, Molijn, Anco, Savicheva, Alevtina, Shipitsyna, Elena, Rosillon, Dominique, Jenkins, David
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 15.12.2015
• ISSN: 0020-7136; 1097-0215
• DOI: 10.1002/ijc.29651

Cervical glandular neoplasias (CGN) present a challenge for cervical cancer prevention due to their complex histopathology and difficulties in detecting preinvasive stages with current screening practices. Reports of human papillomavirus (HPV) prevalence and type‐distribution in CGN vary, providing uncertain evidence to support prophylactic vaccination and HPV screening. This study [108288/108290] assessed HPV prevalence and type‐distribution in women diagnosed with cervical adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS, N = 49), adenosquamous carcinoma (ASC, N = 104), and various adenocarcinoma subtypes (ADC, N = 461) from 17 European countries, using centralised pathology review and sensitive HPV testing. The highest HPV‐positivity rates were observed in AIS (93.9%), ASC (85.6%), and usual‐type ADC (90.4%), with much lower rates in rarer ADC subtypes (clear‐cell: 27.6%; serous: 30.4%; endometrioid: 12.9%; gastric‐type: 0%). The most common HPV types were restricted to HPV16/18/45, accounting for 98.3% of all HPV‐positive ADC. There were variations in HPV prevalence and ADC type‐distribution by country. Age at diagnosis differed by ADC subtype, with usual‐type diagnosed in younger women (median: 43 years) compared to rarer subtypes (medians between 57 and 66 years). Moreover, HPV‐positive ADC cases were younger than HPV‐negative ADC. The six years difference in median age for women with AIS compared to those with usual‐type ADC suggests that cytological screening for AIS may be suboptimal. Since the great majority of CGN are HPV16/18/45‐positive, the incorporation of prophylactic vaccination and HPV testing in cervical cancer screening are important prevention strategies. Our results suggest that special attention should be given to certain rarer ADC subtypes as most appear to be unrelated to HPV. What's new? Cervical cancer occurs in several different types; while Pap smears do a fine job of preventing one type, they fall short when it comes to another. Cervical adenocarcinoma (ADC) can look very different from case to case, and is more difficult to identify. This study characterized the HPV subtypes most commonly associated with ADC. Most commonly found were HPV 16, 18, and 45; thus, many of these cancers could be prevented by vaccination. The rarer subtypes of ADC had less of a link to HPV infection, and these cancers warrant special attention to develop better screening tools.