Validation of ThermoFisher's Papspin for human papillomavirus detection in cervicovaginal specimens using PCR with GP5+/GP6+ primers and the Hybrid Capture II assay

Clin Microbiol Infect. 2010 Jun;16(6):671-5. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-0691.2009.02943.x. Epub 2009 Aug 18.

Abstract

The present study aimed to validate ThermoFisher's (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Runcorn, Cheshire, UK) Papspin (PS) for human papillomavirus (HPV) testing by in-house PCR and by the Hybrid Capture II (HC2) assay and to compare the results with those obtained using Specimen Transport Medium (STM) (Digene Diagnostics, Gaithersburg, MD, USA). Forty-five patients underwent conization for known lesions ranging from atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASC-US) with high-risk HPV (hr-HPV) to high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (H-SIL/CIN2+) or adenocarcinoma. Two negative controls were included: one patient with post-menopausal bleeding and another from whom an inflammatory cervical sample was taken without conization. Prior to conization, a gynaecologist collected two cervical samples, fixed in PS or STM, from each patient. All but four cases were tested for panHPV (GP5+/GP6+) and specific hr-HPV subtypes (HPV16, 18, 31,33) by PCR using both media and all were processed for HC2. This study demonstrates that both HPV detection techniques work with PS, showing a specificity of 78.3% for HC2 and 92.8% for PCR compared to 83.8% for HC2 and 92% for PCR using STM. The efficacy of detecting HPV in PS-preserved H-SIL/CIN2+ was very high (96% for PCR using PS and 86% for HC2 using PS), which was in the same range as for PCR using STM, and which was only slightly lower than for HC2 using STM (96% and 89%, respectively). The differences were not statistically significant. It is concluded that ThermoFisher's PS is a valid liquid-based cytology medium for cervical samples, convenient for HPV testing by PCR with GP5+/GP6+ primers and by the HC2 assay.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Validation Study

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Cervix Uteri / virology*
  • DNA Primers / genetics
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Middle Aged
  • Nucleic Acid Hybridization / methods
  • Papillomaviridae / classification*
  • Papillomaviridae / genetics
  • Papillomaviridae / isolation & purification*
  • Papillomavirus Infections / diagnosis*
  • Papillomavirus Infections / virology
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction / methods*
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Specimen Handling / methods
  • Virology / methods*

Substances

  • DNA Primers