STUDY DESIGN: In this cross sectional study, between November 2013 to March 2014, in a public university, a convenient sampling method was used. A total of 716 respondents were recruited and interviewed with a set of standard questionnaires for assessment of knowledge, perception and attitudes towards HPV and predictor variables associated with level of knowledge.
RESULTS: Almost half (48.9%) of the respondents scored less than 5 and were categorised as having poor knowledge. Three hundred and twelve (43.6%) respondents had moderate knowledge and only 54 (7.5%) respondents exhibited good knowledge with the score of 11 and above. Only 142 (20%) students perceived themselves to be vulnerable to HPV infection though 560 (78.2%) students thought that HPV infection is a serious disease. Perceived benefits and desire to be vaccinated were significantly associated with gender (p=0.000) and knowledge of HPV vaccine and cervical cancer (p=0.000).
CONCLUSIONS: The level of knowledge regarding HPV among the pre-university students was low. However, student intention for vaccination increased with increasing level of knowledge. Thus, efforts to improve knowledge and awareness should be prioritised to increase uptake of the HPV vaccination programme and hence reduce morbidity and mortality from consequences of HPV infection, including cervical carcinoma.
METHODS: Women older than 21 years with a histologic diagnosis of ICC and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia [CIN 2 or 3 and adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS)] were enrolled. Cervical specimens were reviewed by histopathologists to confirm the presence of ICC or CIN 2/3/AIS lesion and tested with short PCR fragment 10-DNA enzyme immunoassay-line probe assay for 14 oncogenic HPV types and 11 non-oncogenic HPV types. The prevalence of HPV 16, HPV 18, and other high-risk HPV types in ICC [including squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and adenocarcinoma/adenosquamous carcinoma (ADC/ASC)] and CIN 2/3/AIS was estimated.
RESULTS: In the 5 Asian countries, diagnosis of ICC was confirmed in 500 women [SCC (n = 392) and ADC/ASC (n = 108)], and CIN 2/3/AIS, in 411 women. Human papillomavirus DNA was detected in 93.8% to 97.0% (84.5% for the Philippines) of confirmed ICC cases [94.0%-98.7% of SCC; 87.0%-94.3% (50.0% for the Philippines) of ADC/ASC] and in 93.7% to 100.0% of CIN 2/3/AIS. The most common types observed among ICC cases were HPV 16 (36.8%-61.3%), HPV 18 (12.9%-35.4%), HPV 52 (5.4%-10.3%), and HPV 45 (1.5%-17.2%), whereas among CIN 2/3/AIS cases, HPV 16 (29.7%-46.6%) was the most commonly observed type followed by HPV 52 (17.0%-66.7%) and HPV 58 (8.6%-16.0%).
CONCLUSIONS: This article presents the data on the HPV prevalence, HPV type distribution, and their role in cervical carcinogenesis in 5 Asian countries. These data are of relevance to public health authorities for evaluating the existing and future cervical cancer prevention strategies including HPV-DNA testing-based screening and HPV vaccination in these Asian populations.