Distribution of human papillomavirus (HPV) types and anti-HPV T-cell immune responses among different racial/ethnic groups in Central Arkansas.

The distribution of human papillomavirus (HPV) types and T-cell immune responses were compared among European American, African American, and Hispanic American populations being followed for abnormal Papanicolaou smear results who were attending the same university medical center clinic in Central Arkansas. Statistically significant differences were found for HPV types 55, 58, and 83 among the 37 HPV types tested. However, there were no differences in T-cell immune responses among these racial/ethnic groups. These results are unlikely to have an impact on therapeutic HPV vaccine development since the most prevalent HPV type among all racial/ethnic groups was HPV type 16.