Advanced HPV screening for the prevention of cervical cancer

Greiner Bio-One, the leading international technology partner for the diagnostic and pharmaceutical industry, is bringing the PapilloCheck® DNA-chip for the simultaneous genotyping of 24 different types of human papilloma virus (HPV) to market.

The biochip is an in-vitro diagnostic tool for the qualitative detection of human papilloma viruses in clinical specimens. With it, medical laboratories and clinics will benefit from a specific identification of the causative agent for cervical carcinoma.

Worldwide, cervical carcinoma is the second most common form of cancer in women, with nearly 471,000 new cases and 233,000 deaths annually. The relatively low sensitivity as well as the absence of a demonstrable causative agent when using PAP-cytology have thus far substantially hindered a further reduction of this form of cancer. Since a persistant infection with HPV is regarded as the main cause of nearly all cases of cervical carcinoma, PapilloCheck® from Greiner Bio-One opens up new possibilities for the successful diagno-sis, therapy and research investigation of cervical cancer disease.

The genotyping of 18 so-called high-risk (hr) as well as 6 low-risk (lr) HPV-types with PapilloCheck® is based on the hybridisation of the virus-DNA on DNA-arrays. The described HPV-types are detected in parallel in a single assay.

HPV-typing with PapilloCheck® permits a more targeted evaluation of the risk of the infection, because hrHPV- types themselves show a different risk potential for the occurrence of a cervical carcinoma. Medicine and research now gain the possibility for a more exact esti-mation of the risk for existing infections. In addition, PapilloCheck® offers a precise basis for the management of HPV-vaccinations as well as for epidemiological studies.