Prevalence of high-risk human papillomavirus in Hangzhou, Eastern China

Human papillomavirus (HPV) has been proved to play a crucial role in the development of cervical cancer and precancerous lesions. The prevalence and distribution of high-risk HPV (HR-HPV) genotypes varies in countries, even in China. The present study aimed to investigate the genotypes prevalence, age-and season-specific prevalence, and frequency of HR-HPV infection in gynecology examination (GE) patients and healthy volunteers (HV) in Hangzhou, Eastern China. A total of 8,918 study subjects were enrolled and assigned into the gynecology examination (GE) group (n = 6,469) and the healthy volunteer (HV) group (n = 2,449), and 15 HR-HPV genotypes were characterized in cervical specimens. HPV-52, -58, -16, and -51 were the four most common genotypes, and higher prevalence of HR-HPV genotypes was seen in the GE group than in the HV group except HPV-59 and -45. In the GE group, the age-specific prevalence of HPV genotypes appeared a "U-shaped" curve; however, no significant difference was seen in the HV group. The HR-HPV genotypes exhibited clear seasonal rhythms, and various genotypes presented season-specific characteristics. A single HR-HPV genotype infection was most frequently observed in both groups and the proportion of infection with a single or two HPV genotypes was comparable between the two groups. Our data indicate that HR-HPV has high prevalence and may have special characteristics in Hangzhou, Eastern China. These findings may provide supplementary data for the surveillance of HPV infection and for the cervical cancer control and prevention in China.