Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Type Distribution in Cervical Carcinoma, Low‐Grade, and High‐Grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesions in Women Under 25 Years Old From the Largest Women Hospital in China

This study aimed to profile high-risk HPV genotypes across the spectrum of cervical lesions (low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion [LSIL], HSIL, carcinoma) in young patients under 25. Patients under 25 with histologically confirmed LSIL (n = 200), HSIL (n = 200), or cervical cancer (CC) (n = 32) between January 2018 and December 2021 underwent real-time PCR-based HPV genotyping (21 types) to assess type-specific prevalence. The overall HPV detection rates were 91% in LSIL and 100% in both HSIL and CC. HR-HPV and LR-HPV was observed in 90.5%/14.5% of LSIL cases, 87.5%/5.5% of HSIL cases, and 93.8%/12.5% of CC cases. HPV16 was the most prevalent genotype (25.5%), followed by HPV52 and HPV58 in LSIL. The most frequent HR-HPV genotype in HSIL were HPV16 (63.0%), followed by HPV33, HPV52, HPV58, and HPV18. HPV16 (43.8%) and HPV18 (34.4%) were the most common genotypes in CC tissues, followed by HPV68, HPV53, HPV6, HPV31, HPV52, and HPV59. In squamous cell carcinoma, HPV16 was predominant (70.0%), followed by HPV6, HPV59, and HPV68. HPV18 prevalence was significantly higher in adenocarcinoma, adenosquamous carcinoma, and neuroendocrine carcinoma (100.0%, 71.4%, and 100.0%, respectively) than in squamous cell carcinoma. Theoretically, the protective rates of 2-valent, 4-valent, and 9-valent HPV vaccine were 75.0%, 84.4%, and 87.5%, respectively for CC in Chinese women under 25 years old. The results of this study provide baseline information on the HPV genotypes distribution in women under 25 years of age, which may contribute to promoting the implementation of CC prevention and control programs for this demographic.