Abstract:
Cervical cancer (CC) is a global health problem, with about 500,000 incident
cases and 280,000 mortalities yearly. In Ghana, CC is the second commonest
cancer associated with mortality and morbidity. Women living with HIV
(WLHIV) are at a higher risk of developing pre-cervical cancer lesions. The
world health organization (WHO) recommends Human Papillomavirus (HPV)
DNA test for CC screening among women. This study determined the role of
HPV DNA testing for CC screening among WLHIV at the Cape Coast
Teaching Hospital (CCTH). A facility-based cross-sectional study was
conducted among 330 WLHIV at the gynecology and antiretroviral therapy
clinics at CCTH. Cervical samples were self-collected and screened using the
Atilla Biosystems Ampfire systems (Atila Biosystems, Mountain View, CA,
USA). Socio-demographic, behavioral, and clinical characteristics of
participants was obtained using a standardized questionnaire. Stata v.16 was
used to analyze the data. The mean age was 47.2 (SD ±10.7). The prevalence
of hr-HPV and multiple hr-HPV were 42.7% (95% CI: 37.4-0.48.1) and 60.3%
respectively. HPV59 (50.4%), HPV18 (30.5%), HPV35 (26.2%), were the
most prevalent genotypes. Educational level (AOR=7.55, 95% CI: 1.34-42.43,
p=0.022) was associated with CC knowledge. HIV viral load ≥1000 copies/ml
(AOR=5.58, 95% CI: 2.89-10.78, p<0.001) was associated with co-infection.
The knowledge level of WLHIV on CC is low and the prevalence of hr-HPV
in this study is high. There is the need for intensified surveillance and a
comprehensive CC prevention programme for WLHIV in Ghana.
