Molecular Pathology Laboratory Network

Eight types of human papillomavirus (HPV) appear to be responsible for more than 90 percent of the world's cervical cancer cases, according to a recent study thought to be the largest assessment of HPV genotypes to date. Based on the data, researchers recommend that the three most common high-risk HPV types, 16, 18 and 45, should be the focus of type-specific HPV screening.

The study, published recently in The Lancet Oncology, examined 60 years of data from 10,575 cases of invasive cervical cancer in 38 countries across Europe, North and South America, Africa and Oceania. Researchers found 8,977 (85 percent) of the samples positive for HPV DNA, most commonly types 16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 45, 52 and 58. Types 16 and 18 were found in about 71 percent of the invasive cervical cancer cases, and types 16, 18 and 45 were found in about 94 percent of cervical adenocarcinomas.

To assist physicians with detecting and identifying high-risk types of HPV, Molecular Pathology Laboratory Network, Inc. offers HPV testing and HPV genotyping. For more information on these assays, contact a technical service specialist at 800-932-2943.