Comparison of peroxidase-antiperoxidase and avidin-biotin complex methods for the detection of papillomavirus in histological sections of the cervix uteri.

A study was undertaken to determine the relative sensitivities of the peroxidase-antiperoxidase (PAP) and avidin-biotin complex (ABC) methods for the detection of human papillomavirus (HPV) antigens in acetic acid-ethanol fixed paraffin-embedded cervical tissue. Tissue sections prepared from 14 women suspected to have HPV infections with either atypia or dysplasia were stained immunohistochemically using an antiserum against genus-specific (common) antigen of bovine papillomavirus. Detection of HPV antigen was approximately twice as frequent by the ABC method as by the PAP method. Of the 14 cases studied, 43% were found to be HPV positive by the PAP method whereas 79% were HPV positive by the ABC method. In addition, the number of cells found to be HPV positive by the ABC method was approximately double the number by the PAP method.