Article Text
Statistics from Altmetric.com
Editor,—Similarly to adult pathology, human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the most common sexually transmitted disease in adolescent girls, whose prevalence is 16% according to one US study.1 However, little or no HPV sequencing data from paediatric specimens are available. We used our two tier polymerase chain reaction (PCR) direct sequencing (PCR-DS) approach2 to study cervical biopsies from 44 adolescent Quebec girls (14–17 years old). They originated from various social and ethnic groups, as well as geographically distinct areas of Quebec. Written informed consent about the use of the specimens was obtained from the ethics committee of this institution. All biopsies were analysed for histological changes and presence of HPV specific DNA. Most of them (n = 36) were diagnosed as cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), seven as inflammatory changes, and one as …