4 March 2025 [Press release]

International HPV Awareness Day

International HPV Awareness Day was established by the International Papillomavirus Society (IPVS), and serves to promote awareness of and education around HPV infection, how it spreads, and how HPV infection and the diseases that it causes can be prevented. 80% of people will have HPV at some point in their lives, and more than 90% of cervical cancer cases are linked to HPV infections¹. However, cervical cancer is highly preventable and highly curable if caught early; nearly all cervical cancers could be prevented by HPV vaccination, routine cervical cancer screening, and appropriate follow-up treatment when needed².

In most individuals, the immune system clears about half of HPV infections within 6 to 12 months³. But sometimes this doesn't happen, leading to long lasting (persistent) infection. If you have a persistent infection with a high-risk type of HPV, you are more at risk of developing cervical cancer.

When considering HPV testing, it is important to know that screening is sufficient as a first step, but longitudinal testing by extended genotyping is the only way to demonstrate persistent high-risk HPV infection i.e. a prolonged infection by the same high-risk subtype over a number of years. Two high-risk types, HPV 16 and HPV 18, cause 70% of cervical cancers worldwide³, but there are multiple types of HPV considered high-risk for cervical cancer. DiagCor's GenoFlow^TM HPV Array Test Kit can identify 17 high-risk HPV types, in addition to 16 lower risk types, making it the test of choice for comprehensive extended genotyping. See how our kits compare with the current FDA approved tests here.

HPV vaccination is safe and effective, with over 200 million doses administered globally to date⁴. However, even after vaccination, it is important to continue testing for HPV because the available vaccines only cover a limited number of subtypes. Additionally in the longer term, vaccination may trigger replacement by nontargeted genotypes if these compete with the vaccine-targeted types⁵. Changes in HPV genotype distribution after implementation of global vaccination programs have already been observed⁶. Unlike screening tests, GenoFlow^TM HPV Array allows these long-term changes to be identified and monitored over time.

Via the DiagPuro^TM Nucleic Acid Extraction System and Reagent, Genesis 96T Thermal Cycler, FT^PRO Flow-through System and FT^PRO Auto System, and the GenoFlow^TM HPV-HR Screening Test Kit and GenoFlow^TM HPV Array Test Kit, DiagCor Life Science offers a complete solution for HPV screening and genotyping, for labs of all sizes and workloads. Please contact us at [email protected] if you would like to learn more.

¹https://www.askabouthpv.org/hpv-facts/risks-and-prevention/
²https://www.cancer.gov/types/cervical/causes-risk-prevention
³https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/cervical-cancer/risks-causes
⁴https://www.askabouthpv.org/hpv-facts/hpv-facts-for-everyone/ 
⁵Man I, Vänskä S, Lehtinen M, Bogaards JA. Human Papillomavirus Genotype Replacement: Still Too Early to Tell? J Infect Dis. (2021);224(3):481-491.
⁶Freire-Salinas J, Benito R, Azueta Gómez-Román J. Genotype Distribution Change After Human Papillomavirus Vaccination in Two Autonomous Communities in Spain. Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol. (2021);11:1-6.