Comparison of the clinical performance of carcinogenic HPV typing of the Linear Array and Papillocheck HPV-screening assay

Abstract

Background: HPV types 16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 56, 58, 59, and 66 are considered carcinogenic for human beings. DNA-chip technology, Papillocheck HPV-screening (Greiner) and reverse dot blot, Linear Array (LA) (Roche) are tools to assess the distribution of HPV genotypes.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to compare the clinical performance of Papillocheck and LA assays using a clinical cut-off of CIN2+. The secondary aim was to comparatively assess the distribution of HPV types using these two assays.

Study design: The study population comprised 239 women referred for colposcopy and histology. Papillocheck, LA, and Hybrid Capture II (HCII) tests were done on all samples.

Results: All tests showed good sensitivity and NPV (greater than 90%). None of the comparisons of sensitivities, specificities, PPVs, and NPVs showed statistically relevant differences between tests. High-risk HPV positivity rate was similar for all tests (Papillocheck 75%, LA 77%, and HCII 73%). Agreement between tests was good. The concordance levels between HCII and Papillocheck and between HCII and LA were 93% (k=0.82) and 92% (k=0.80), respectively. Papillocheck and LA tests showed a high overall concordance rate of 96% (k=0.90). HPV16 was the most detected type (45% with Papillocheck, and 47% with LA), and HPV31 was the second most detected type (13% with Papillocheck, and 14% with LA).

Conclusions: The Papillocheck HPV-screening test and LA test have a good clinical sensitivity to detect HPV types in CIN2+ patients. These assays allow, in the same experiment, to detect and determine the virus type. Our study showed that HPV types 16 and 31/33 are the most prevalent.