Cervical Cancer and Genital Infections: Assessment of Performance and Validation in Human Papillomavirus Genotyping Assays in Iran, its Neighbouring Countries and Persian Gulf Area

BACKGROUND: The accuracy of diagnostic assays in Human Papillomavirus (HPV) genital infection and cervical cancer has remained a clinical challenge in diagnosis. Evidence indicates that a large proportion of cervical cancer can be prevented through organized care for HPV and testing. Countries with low per capita income, such as Iran and its neighbours, have no national organized program for cervical cancer screening and vaccination. The aim of this study was to review recent published papers in this region for evaluating the efficacy of released data regarding HPV genotyping system in genital infections and cervical cancer METHODS: Investigating various medical search engines retrieved 46 reports, mostly after 2010, consisting of either home brew protocols or commercial technologies in this field. RESULTS: Summarized results demonstrated that except a few cases, all reports were limited studies performed in confined populations focusing on attending patients at clinics for regular checkups. In the present study, 52.8% of papers were from Iran and the rest belonged to other countries. The rate of HPV infection was reported in the range of 0.62% to 25% in the normal population, while it varied from 18.75% to 100% in females with cervical cancer. In HPV genotyping surveys, only 26.1 % (12/46) of reports had validated and World Health Organization (WHO) proficient procedures. Also, multiple infections were not mentioned in 56.52% (25/46) of researches. CONCLUSIONS: Employing reliable genotyping methods is the best way for regular screening of cervical cancer related to HPV and precancerous diseases in females of these areas. The focus of most surveys was to come up with the best national policies for establishing a preventive program in Iran and Persian Gulf area.