BACKGROUND

Limited data are available about the distribution of human papillomavirus (HPV) among women undergoing cervical cancer screening in Mozambique. We describe the prevalence of high-risk HPV risk groups detected in women who participated in the MULHER Study, a prospective trial of Mozambican women undergoing cervical cancer screening with HPV testing.

METHODS

From January 2020 to January 2023, 9,014 women aged 30-49 years in Maputo City and Gaza Province, Mozambique underwent cervical cancer screening. Cervicovaginal samples were self-collected (97.5%) or provider-collected (2.5%) and primary HPV testing was performed using the GeneXpert HPV testing platform (Cepheid Inc, USA) which provided data on HR-HPV risk groups: HPV16, HPV18/45 and 11 other HR-HPV types in aggregate. Women with a positive HR-HPV test underwent visual assessment using dilute acetic acid applied to the cervix for treatment decisions.

RESULTS

Of the 9,014 women enrolled in the MULHER Study, 8,954 (99.3%) had a valid HPV test result. Of those, 2,805 (31.3%) tested positive for at least one HR-HPV group: HPV16 (n = 475, 16.9%), HPV18/45 (n = 686, 24.6%) and other HR-HPV (n = 2,150, 77.1%). A total of 17.8% were positive for multiple HPV HR groups. HR-HPV infection prevalence was higher among women living with HIV (WLWH) than HIV-negative women (39.7% vs. 24.3% respectively; p < 0.001). WLWH were more likely to test positive for HPV18/45 (p = 0.03) and for two or more HR-HPV risk groups (P < 0.0001) compared with HIV-negative women. HPV16 was the most frequently detected HR-HPV group (56.7%) among women diagnosed with invasive cervical cancer.

CONCLUSIONS

HR-HPV prevalence was high among Mozambican women aged 30-49 years, especially among WLWH, consistent with the high burden of cervical cancer in this population. HPV16 was the most common HR-HPV group among women with cervical cancer. Further study is needed to determine the role of HR-HPV genotyping in follow-up and treatment in Mozambique.