Human Papillomavirus 16 lineage D is associated with high risk of cervical cancer in the Brazilian Northeast region

BackgroundLike HPV types, different lineages also appear to have different carcinogenic capabilities. Studies have shown that oncogenic HPV specific to the genotype lineage is associated with different risks for the development of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN2 / CIN3) and cervical cancer. This study aims to analyze the genetic diversity of HPV 16 genotype in cases of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN2/CIN3) and cervical cancer in women from the Northeast region of Brazil.Methods and ResultsA cross-sectional hospital-based study conducted in the Northeast region of Brazil from 2014 through 2016. In the sample, there were 196 cases of HPV-16 variant (59 cervical intraepithelial neoplasia - CIN2/CIN3 and 137 cases of cervical cancer). Difference of proportion test was used to compare groups of CIN2/CIN3 and cervical cancer by viral lineage (p-value <0.05) in respect to HPV-16 lineage prevalence.The percentage of lineage frequencies by histopathological diagnosis showed a borderline difference of lineage A in the CIN2/CIN3 group compared to the cervical cancer group (p = 0.053). In relation to lineage D, the proportion was higher in cancer cases (32.8%) compared to the CIN2/CIN3 group (16.9%), p-value of 0.023.ConclusionsHPV16 lineage A was the most frequent in both CIN2/CIN3 and cervical cancer samples, while lineage D predominated in cervical cancer, suggesting a possible association of HPV-16 lineage D with cervical cancer.