High-risk human papillomavirus prevalence among patients with cervical cancer at Moewardi General Hospital in Surakarta, Indonesia

Introduction: In Indonesia, cervical cancer is the second most prevalent type of cancer among the general population. Cervical cancer has the second-highest mortality rate of all cancers. Infection with the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is one of the causes that starts the growing phase of cervical cancer. The purpose of this study, therefore, is to determine the prevalence of HPV infection in patients with cervical cancer who were examined at Dr. Moewardi Hospital and lived in the ex-Surakarta Residency.Methods: Cervical tissue biopsy at the Anatomical Pathology Installation of Dr. Moewardi General Hospital Surakarta which had been diagnosed as cervical cancer was examined by the detection of E6 protein from HPV 16 and HPV 18 using immunohistochemical staining techniques. The data obtained would be analyzed based on the characteristics of the patient's age and the degree of histopathological malignancy with a p-value < 0.05 deemed significant.Results: Overall, the prevalence of high-risk HPV infection was 77.8% (35/45), with women aged between 41-55 years having the highest prevalence of HPV infection (45.7, 16/35), followed by women aged 56-70 (42.9%), women over 70 (8.6%) and women under 40 (2.9%). The results of statistical tests showed that no significant relationship was found between HPV infection and age (p = 0.428). High-risk HPV infection was most prevalent in the poorly differentiated group (54.3%), followed by the well-differentiated group (34.3%) and the moderately differentiated group (11.4%). The results of statistical tests revealed a significant association between HPV infection and tumor grade (p = 0.027).Conclusion: To lower patient morbidity and mortality, it is crucial to receive a prophylactic HPV vaccine due to the incidence of HPV 16 and 18 infections in patients with cervical cancer at the Regional Hospital Dr. Moewardi Surakarta, with a prevalence of 77.8%.