Background
Data on human papillomavirus (HPV) prevalence and survival rates among HPV-infected women are scarce in Saudi Arabia.
Conclusion
These findings suggest that implementing cervical and HPV screening programs may decrease cervical cancer rates and improve survival rates of women in Saudi Arabia. Limitation: Single center and small sample size. Conflict of interest: None.
Methods
Cervical biopsy specimens were collected from women aged 23-95 years old who underwent HPV detection, HPV genotyping, p16INK4a expression measurement using immunohistochemistry. Kaplan-Meier plots were constructed to analyze overall survival rates. Main outcome measures: Survival rate of HPV-positive cervical cancer patients. Sample size: 315 cervical biopsy specimens.
Objective
Assess the prevalence of HPV genotypes in cervical biopsy specimens and its effect on survival over a 10-year timeframe. Design: Retrospective, cross-sectional. Settings: Saudi referral hospital. Patients and
Results
HPV was detected in 96 patients (30.4%): 37.3% had cervical cancer; 14.2% cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) III, 4.1% CIN II, and 17.0% CIN I. A significant association was found between HPV presence and cervical cancer (χ2=56.78; P<.001). The expression of p16INK4a was a significant predictor of survival: women who had p16INK4a overexpression had poorer survival rates (multivariate Cox regression, hazard ratio, 3.2; 95% CI, 1.1-8.8). In addition, multivariate models with HPV status and cervical cancer diagnosis showed that HPV status was a significant predictor of survival: HPV-positive women had better survival rates than HPV-negative women.