Prevalence of high-risk human papilloma virus types and cervical smear abnormalities in female sex workers in Chandigarh, India.
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Date
2016-07
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Abstract
Purpose: Cervical cancer is the most common cancer among women in developing nations. Nearly 90% of the cases
have been linked to the presence of high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) types 16 and 18. The risk of cervical
cancer may be high in female sex workers (FSWs) due to multiple sexual partners. This study aimed to determine the
prevalence of cytological abnormalities and hrHPV types 16 and 18 in FSWs in Chandigarh, North India using the
liquid-based cytology (LBC) approach. Materials and Methods: The cervical brush samples were collected from
120 FSW and 98 age-matched healthy controls (HCs). These were subjected to pap smear using conventional method,
LBC and the detection of hrHPV types 16 and 18 was carried out using polymerase chain reaction. Results: The LBC
samples showed better cytological details and also reduced the number of unsatisfactory smears from 11% in Pap to
1.5% in the LBC. A significantly higher number of inflammatory smears were reported in FSWs (51.7% vs. 34.7%,
P = 0.01). The hrHPV types 16/18 were detected in 33/120 (27.5%) FSW versus 23/98 (23.5%) HCs. The risk of
acquiring hrHPV was higher in FSWs, who had age at first sex ≤25 years, higher income and the habit of smoking.
Conclusion: The high prevalence of hrHPV among FSWs and HCs suggests the need for the implementation of
effective National Screening Programme for early detection of hrHPV types to decrease the burden of cervical cancer,
especially in high-risk population.
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Keywords
Cervical cancer, female sex workers, human papillomavirus, liquid based cytology
Citation
Singh M P, Kaur M, Gupta N, Kumar A, Goyal K, Sharma A, Majumdar M, Gupta M, Ratho R K. Prevalence of high-risk human papilloma virus types and cervical smear abnormalities in female sex workers in Chandigarh, India. Indian Journal of Medical Microbiology. 2016 July-Sept; 34(3): 328-334.