Human Papillomavirus Infection in Women in Puerto Rico

ObjectiveThis study aimed to describe the prevalence and concordance between cervical and anal human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and compare cervicovaginal and anal self-collection methods for HPV testing between physician and self-collected specimens in women in Puerto Rico.Materials and methodsSpecimens for HPV-DNA testing were obtained from 100 women aged 18 to 34 years attending a general gynecology clinic for a routine Pap smear. Human papillomavirus testing was performed using polymerase chain reaction MY09/MY11 primers. Positive samples were typed for 39 genotypes. Agreement between sampling methods was determined by percent agreement and the κ statistic.ResultsFor the 39 genotypes evaluated, 38.4% (38/99) of cervicovaginal and 33.7% (30/89) of anal physician-collected samples were HPV+, whereas 35.1% (34/97) of cervicovaginal and 32.0% (31/97) of anal self-collected samples were positive. Human papillomavirus type 16 was the most common type identified in the cervix (8.3%, 8/97) and the anus (5.6%, 5/89) of physician-collected samples, with similar prevalence in self-collected samples. Concordance between cervical and anal HPV infection was high (>90%) for all types evaluated. There was a strong percent agreement between physician- and self-collected cervicovaginal and anal samples (>95% for all HPV types) and good to excellent agreement (κ > 0.60) for most HPV types.ConclusionsThe clinic-based prevalence of anal and cervicovaginal HPV infection was high, with a strong concordance between cervical and anal infection and good to excellent agreement between physician- and self-collected samples. This study supports the feasibility of using cervical and anal self-sampling methods in future population-based studies of HPV infection in Puerto Rico and as an HPV screening method in women