Abstract:
Objective: To investigate the integration status of human papillomavirus (HPV) genes in patients infected with high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) and to analyze the correlations between integration status and patient age and cervical lesion severity.
Methods: Cervical exfoliated cell samples were collected from 104 women with single HR-HPV infection that had been admitted to the Department of Gynecology, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region People's Hospital, China, between November, 2019 and June, 2025. Human papilloma virus genotyping was performed using PCR and membrane hybridization,and HPV gene integration status was determined using liquid-phase probe hybridization capture and high-throughput sequencing. The integration rates were analyzed across different HPV subtypes, cervical lesion grades, and age groups.
Results: The HPV16/18 integration rate was 44.4%, which was significantly higher than that for non-HPV16/18 types (3.1%) (χ²=17.460 (
P<0.001).The integration rate significantly increased with cervical lesion severity among the HPV16/18 patients, rising from 20.0% in the cervicitis group to 84.6% in the cervical carcinoma group (χ²=28.722,
P<0.001). Additionally, the viral integration rate was positively correlated with patient age. The correlation was highest (60.0%) for the ≥ 60 age group, which was significantly higher than the <30 age group (12.5%) (χ²=13.386,
P=0.008).
Conclusions: Human papilloma virus gene integration is closely associated with HPV infection subtype, cervical lesion severity, and patient age; the HPV16/18 types have a greater integration propensity, with integration rates significantly increasing with cervical lesion progression and advancing age. Assessing HPV gene integration status is clinically important when evaluating cervical lesion progression.