HPV DNA testing: Potential clinical applications

Abstract

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a common viral infection of squamous epithelial tissues. The medical community has only recently recognised the importance of HPV, which consists of many genotypes and is associated with a diverse spectrum of clinical manifestations. Genital HPV infections are the commonest viral sexually transmitted infections, with the majority being transient and asymptomatic. In a small number of women, chronic carriage of oncogenic or high-risk (HR) genotypes over years results in severe dysplasia (the precursor lesion of cervical cancer) and ultimately carcinogenesis via cofactors (in complex pathways not totally understood). Whilst low-risk (LR) HPVs genotypes (6, 11) are..