Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Diverse HPV 16 variants have been known to vary in geographic distribution and oncogenic potential. On this point, the nucleotide changes of the E6 gene were studied to find lineages of HPV 16 in normal, premalignant, and malignant stages of uterine cervical samples. METHODS: In this study, 120 HPV 16-infected samples were investigated using PCR and sequencing. RESULTS: In our samples, three lineages A, C, and D were found and lineage D was predominant (79.2%) followed by lineages A (20%) and C (0.8%). Concerning the association between histopathological stages and lineages, no statistically important differences were found. CONCLUSION: Our finding revealed that two lineages A and D were circulating, with the dominancy of lineage, in Tehran, Iran. This finding emphasizes the geographic diversity of distinct HPV 16 (sub)lineages is different in the world.