Human papillomavirus infection and invasive cervical neoplasia: a study of prevalence and morphology.

The prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA sequences in 45 cervical cancer biopsies was examined with the hot-start polymerase chain reaction (PCR), employing HPV consensus primers from the L1 region. The cases comprised 38 squamous cell carcinomas, three adenosquamous carcinomas, and four adenocarcinomas. PCR products were typed with single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) and the HPV types detected were correlated with tumour type. Forty-three biopsies were HPV-positive, HPV16 being the most prevalent type. HPV18/33/45/58 were also detected, but no low-risk or multiple types. Keratinizing squamous cell carcinoma was invariably associated with HPV16 and adenosquamous carcinoma and adenocarcinoma with HPVs 18/45. Non-keratinizing squamous cell carcinomas harboured all five detected types. Our data corroborate the view that malignant cervical tumours are almost invariably associated with high-risk HPV and that certain malignant cervical tumour phenotypes correlate with specific HPV types.