Human papillomavirus status in southern Chinese women.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a sexually transmitted pathogen that plays an important role in the pathogenesis of precancerous cervical lesions and cervical cancer.1 The prevalence of HPV types in Hong Kong differs from that in Sichuan, China. Cross-border travel and marriage between people in Hong Kong and Guangzhou have increased greatly, as has the potential for disease transmission. Integration of HPV correlates with poor response to treatment and poor disease-free survival in cervical cancer.2 Integration usually causes deletion and/or disruption of the E2 gene of the HPV. In this study, we aimed to determine (1) the spectrum and prevalence of HPV in healthy women in Hong Kong and Guangzhou, and (2) whether integration of the high-risk HPV16 and HPV58 genomes in the host is associated with progressive severity of the precancerous cervical lesion and cervical cancer.