Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Human papilloma virus has been linked to many types of cervical lesions, ranging from the relatively
innocuous lesions to fatal invasive squamous cell carcinoma. There is growing evidence of Human
papillomavirus being a relevant factor in other anogenital cancers (anus, vulva, vagina and penis) as
well as head and neck cancers.
OBJECTIVE:
To assess the feasibility of immunohistochemical staining paraffin sections for the presence of
Human papilloma virus with monoclonal antibodies (clone K1H8, IgG) raised against the major coat
fusion capsid proteins and to detect the frequency of human papilloma virus immunoexpression in
benign, preneoplastic and neoplastic cervical lesions in patients living in Erbil city ( North of Iraq).
MATERIALS AND METHODS:
A total of 75 paraffin blocks samples of cervical tissue were retrieved retrospectively from the
Pathology Department of Maternity Teaching Hospital and some private laboratories in Erbil city,
during a period spanning from September 2013 to June 2014. They were categorized as: Benign
cervicitis (10) samples, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, CIN I (33) samples, CIN II (10) samples,
CIN III (13) samples, cervical squamous cell carcinoma (6) samples and three samples with cervical
adenocarcinoma Immunohistochemistry was performed on those samples using the avidin -biotinperoxidase complex in which primarily monoclonal anti Human papilloma virus antibodies was used.
RESULTS:
None of the 10 samples of benign cervicitis were positive for Human papillomavirus protein while 21
out of 33 (63.6%) samples of CINI, 9 out of 10 (90%) samples of CIN II and 9 out of 13 (69.2%)
samples of CIN III were positive for HPV. Also Human papillomavirus positivity observed in all six
samples of squamous cell carcinoma (100%), mostly in sheets of less mature squamous cells and in 1
out of 3 (33.3%) samples of adenocarcinoma , mostly focal and in single cell.
CONCLUSION:
The immunohistochemical staining technique revealed a significant detection of HPV protein in
cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and cervical carcinoma.
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