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Papillomavirus infection: human papillomavirus detection
Medical expert of the article
Last reviewed: 05.07.2025
Human papillomaviruses ( HPV) are small DNA-containing oncogenic viruses that infect epithelial cells and induce proliferative lesions. Currently, more than 70 types of human papillomavirus have been identified. Epidemiological analysis of research data on the presence of human papillomavirus has allowed us to propose a concept about the involvement of viruses of this group in the development of epithelial malignant neoplasms.
Types of human papillomavirus detected in various lesions of the skin and mucous membranes
Clinical manifestations |
Human papillomavirus type |
Skin lesions |
|
Plantar warts |
1, 2, 4 |
Common warts |
2, 4, 26, 27, 29, 57 |
Flat warts |
3, 10, 28, 49 |
Butcher's warts |
7 |
Epidermodysplasia verruciformis |
5, 8, 9, 10, 12, 15, 19, 36 |
Non-verrucous skin lesions |
37, 38 |
Lesions of the mucous membranes of the genitals |
|
Condylomata accuminata |
6, 11, 42-44, 54 |
Non-condylomatous lesions |
6, 11, 16, 18, 30, 31, 33-35, 39, 40, 42, |
43, 51, 52, 55-59, 61, 64, 67-70 |
|
Carcinoma |
16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 54, 56, 66, 68 |
Lesions of other mucous membranes |
|
Laryngeal papilloma |
6, 11, 30 |
Carcinoma of the neck, tongue |
2, 6, 11, 16, 18, 30 |
More than 90% of all cervical carcinomas are positive for the presence of human papillomaviruses. The most frequently detected types of viruses in material from cervical tumors are types 16 and 18.
Human papillomavirus types 6 and 11 are recognized as the etiologic cause of recurrent respiratory papillomatosis, which usually affects the nasopharynx, trachea, larynx, and can progress to become a common bronchopulmonary disease. In most cases, papillomatosis is benign, but can transform into squamous cell carcinoma.
Human papillomavirus type 16 DNA is frequently detected in urogenital carcinoma cells in immunocompromised patients.
The only method for detecting human papillomaviruses in the listed diseases is the PCR method. The material for the study is tumor punctures, lymph nodes, vaginal discharge, nose, trachea, urine. Detection of a certain type of human papillomavirus in the studied material does not yet indicate the presence of a malignant tumor in the patient, but requires a histological study of the disease substrate and subsequent dynamic monitoring of it. Those women who have long-term persistence of the human papillomavirus in the cervix have an approximately 65-fold higher risk of developing cervical cancer. The risk is even higher (130-fold) in women over 30 years old if they are infected with types 16 or 18 of the human papillomavirus.
They express an opinion about the important role of detection of human papillomaviruses in lymph node biopsies in cervical carcinoma for determining the scope of surgical treatment and identifying intact and metastatic lymph nodes. If human papillomaviruses are found in lymph nodes, even in the absence of histological signs of their tumor damage, the results of the study should be assessed as the presence of metastases in the lymph nodes.
Based on the results of studies on the human papillomavirus using the PCR method, conducted before and after treatment, its effectiveness can be assessed.
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