Prevalence in Sweden of Human Papillomavirus Type 16 Infection in CIN II-III Cases Assessed by a PCR Method

Abstract

The presence of human papillomavirus (HPV) 16 in cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN)II-III cases was studied by means of a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) -based method applied to paraffin-embedded tissues. Twenty-two of 45 (49%) cases showed a positive signal determined by direct visualization on gel stained with ethidium bromide. Fourteen of these cases were confirmed by dot blot hybridization, which accords with a prevalence of HPV 16 infection in 31% of Stockholm patients with CIN II-III. The latter value is lower than that published elsewhere (Young et al. 1989; Maki et al. 1991 Skydberg et al. 1991).