Project Duration: April 1, 2009 to September 30, 2011
This study was conducted to determine the baseline (i.e. pre-vaccine) HPV type specific prevalence in a population-based sample of women presenting for routine cervical cancer screening. From June 2010 to December 2010, a total of 2,100 physicians from all health regions in the province were invited to return ten sequential cytobrushes used during routine office-based Pap screening to the BCCDC Laboratory for HPV type specific testing. Specimens were initially screened for high risk HPV (hrHPV) and positives were then genotyped by three methods. The study established the baseline hrHPV genotype distribution among a population-based sample of women undergoing routine cervical cancer screening in BC. These data will be important to demonstrate reduction in HPV 16 and 18 rates as a result of the Quadrivalent-HPV vaccine, and will enable monitoring of potential replacement of HPV 16 and 18 with other hrHPV types as population immunization coverage expands.
