Evaluation of a newly developed GenoArray human papillomavirus (HPV) genotyping assay and comparison with the Roche Linear Array HPV genotyping assay.

Persistent infection with high-risk types of human papillomavirus (HPV) is a necessary step in the development of cervical cancer. The incorporation of HPV detection into cervical screening programs may improve the ability to identify women at risk of cervical cancer. We recently evaluated the performance characteristics of a newly developed HPV detection assay, the GenoArray (GA) genotyping assay, for the detection of HPV infections by comparing it with the commercial Roche Linear Array (LA) HPV genotyping assay. The GA assay has an analytical sensitivity for the detection of HPV types 16 (HPV-16) and HPV-18 of as few as 10 to 50 copies, and its reproducibility is adequate. The GA and LA assays showed no significant difference in the rates of detection of genotypes detected by both HPV genotyping assays and oncogenic genotypes, and the interassay agreement was excellent. The GA and LA assays revealed either concordant or compatible genotyping results for 97.5% of the samples and discordant results for only eight (2.5%) samples. Compatible results were also observed for the detection of single or multiple HPV infections and the detection of most of the genotypes. The GA assay also demonstrated good clinical performance characteristics when the comparisons were carried out with clinical subgroups of samples from patients with normal cytologies, low-grade or high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions, and cancers. Therefore, the GA assay appears to be highly sensitive and specific for the genotyping of HPV. It has the advantage that it specifically detects HPV-52, which overcomes a limitation of the LA assay, and hence, it has potential value for use for genotyping, especially in regions where HPV-52 has a high prevalence.