Elizabeth R Unger

• PhD, MD
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Background Men who have sex with men (MSM) with HIV are disproportionately affected by human papillomavirus (HPV) and related diseases. We assessed HPV vaccine effectiveness (VE) against anal HPV among MSM with HIV. Methods During 2018–2023, residual anal specimens from MSM with HIV, aged 18–45 years, attending sexual health clinics in three U.S....

Background Human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated cancers are vaccine preventable. In 2016, the previously recommended three-dose HPV vaccination series was changed to a two-dose series and nine-valent HPV vaccine (9vHPV) became the only HPV vaccine available in the United States. Data on longer-term duration of antibodies following a 9vHPV two-dose...

Background Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a serious, debilitating illness affecting millions of people worldwide. Patients with ME/CFS often feel misunderstood and report facing barriers to healthcare utilization. Objective We report on a Voice of the Patient (VOP) series that used tenets from photovoice and hermene...

Introduction Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a chronic, complex illness. No diagnostic tests exist; illness evaluation relies on medical history, physical exam, and laboratory tests. While more is known about ME/CFS in adults, it can affect children and adolescents as a chronic condition. Methods We implemented an ME...

In addition to oropharyngeal cancers, evidence suggests there may be an etiologic role for human papillomavirus (HPV) in some other head and neck cancers arising from the oral cavity and larynx. We estimated the burden of HPV16-attributable cancers of the oral cavity (ICD-O-3 site codes C02.0-C02.3, C02.9, C03.0, C03.1, C03.9, C04.0, C04.1, C04.8,...

Background Surveillance of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), a chronic, debilitating multisystem illness, is challenging because ME/CFS can be under-recognized in healthcare settings. Methods Using a population-based panel study of 9,820 adult members of Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC), a large, integrated he...

This cross-sectional study examines the prevalence of ever and current post–COVID-19 condition (long COVID) and self-reported limitations of activity due to symptoms of post–COVID-19 condition among US adults.

Introduction: The Global Burden Estimation of HPV (GLOBE-HPV) study seeks to estimate the prevalence and incidence of HPV in eight Low- and Middle-Income Countries in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Innovative sample collection methods that do not require a clinician are needed for HPV surveillance and screening. Self-collected cervicovaginal sw...

Background With accumulating evidence of single-dose human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine efficacy in young women, we conducted a community vaccine effectiveness study comparing HPV single-dose and 2-dose regimens (0 and 6 months) of a bivalent HPV vaccine among grade 8 schoolgirls (aged 13-14 years) in Thailand. Methods In 2018, eligible grade 8 sc...

Background Recovery from SARS CoV-2 infection is expected within 3 months. Long COVID occurs after SARS-CoV-2 when symptoms are present for more than 3 months that are continuous, relapsing and remitting, or progressive. Better understanding of Long COVID illness trajectories could strengthen patient care and support. Methods We characterized func...

Introduction Patients with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) experience cognitive problems with attention, information processing speed, working memory, learning efficiency, and executive function. Commonly, patients report worsening of cognitive symptoms over time after physical and/or cognitive challenges. To determine,...

Background Chronic overlapping pain conditions (COPCs), pain-related conditions that frequently occur together, may occur in patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and could impact illness severity. This study aimed to identify comorbid COPCs in patients with ME/CFS and evaluate their impact on illness severity....

Background Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) can be triggered by infectious agents including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). However, the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on ME/CFS prevalence is not well characterized. Methods In this population-based cross-sectional...

Previously established World Health Organization (WHO) International Standards (IS) for anti-HPV16 and HPV18 antibodies are used to harmonize results across human papillomavirus (HPV) serology assays. Here, we present an international collaborative study to establish ISs for antibodies against HPV6 (NIBSC code 19/298), HPV11 (20/174), HPV31 (20/176...

Background We assessed human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine effectiveness (VE) against anal HPV among men who have sex with men (MSM) in 2018–2023. Methods Residual anal specimens from MSM without HIV ages 18–45 years were tested for HPV. We calculated adjusted prevalence ratios (aPR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for associations between vaccin...

Importance Chronic symptoms reported following an infection with SARS-CoV-2, such as cognitive problems, overlap with symptoms included in the definition of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). Objective To evaluate the prevalence of ME/CFS-like illness subsequent to acute SARS-CoV-2 infection, changes in ME/CFS symptoms th...

Introduction Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a chronic illness characterized by marked functional limitations and fatigue. Electronic health records can be used to estimate incidence of ME/CFS but may have limitations. Methods The authors used International Classification of Diseases (ICD) diagnosis codes to identify...

Objectives: Although invasive cervical cancer (ICC) rates have declined since the advent of screening, the annual age-adjusted ICC rate in the United States remains 7.5 per 100,000 women. Failure of recommended screening and management often precedes ICC diagnoses. The study aimed to evaluate characteristics of women with incident ICC, including po...

Objectives The Enduring Consensus Cervical Cancer Screening and Management Guidelines Committee developed recommendations for dual stain (DS) testing with CINtec PLUS Cytology for use of DS to triage high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive results. Methods Risks of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 3 or worse were calculated according...

Objectives The Enduring Consensus Cervical Cancer Screening and Management Guidelines (Enduring Guidelines) effort is a standing committee to continuously evaluate new technologies and approaches to cervical cancer screening, management, and surveillance. Methods and Results The Enduring Guidelines process will selectively incorporate new technolo...

This study aimed to estimate the incidence rates of post-COVID-19 fatigue and chronic fatigue and to quantify the additional incident fatigue caused by COVID-19. We analyzed electronic health records data of 4,589 patients with confirmed COVID-19 during February 2020-February 2021 who were followed for a median of 11.4 (interquartile range 7.8-15.5...

Background: One of the goals of the Multi-site Clinical Assessment of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (MCAM) study was to evaluate whether clinicians experienced in diagnosing and caring for patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) recognized the same clinical entity. Methods: We enrolled particip...

Human papillomavirus (HPV) causes cervical as well as other cancers. Racial and ethnic disparities in cervical cancer incidence and mortality in the United States are well documented. HPV vaccination has been recommended in the United States since 2006 and is expected to prevent HPV-attributable cancers in all racial/ethnic groups. Quadrivalent HPV...

Immunogenicity of Two or Three Doses of 9vHPV VaccineThis noninferiority trial examined two versus three doses of 9-valent human papillomavirus (9vHPV) vaccine in individuals 15 to 26 years of age in the United States. In an unplanned interim analysis of female participants, two doses of 9vHPV vaccine appeared to elicit similar rates of seroconvers...

Background Among men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women (TGW), the dynamics of human papillomavirus (HPV) infections at different anatomical sites are not well understood. Information on HPV concordance between anatomic sites can inform the extent of autoinoculation, and susceptibility of different anatomic areas to HPV infection. We...

Long-term follow-up of a cohort of unmarried girls who received one, two, or three doses of quadrivalent HPV vaccine, between 10 and 18 years of age, in an Indian multi-centric study allowed us to compare antibody responses between the younger and older age cohorts at 10-years post-vaccination, and study the impact of initiation of sexual activity...

Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a complex, multisystem illness characterized by activity-limiting fatigue, worsening of symptoms after activity, and other symptoms (1). It affects all age, sex, and racial and ethnic groups and costs the U.S. economy about $18-$51 billion annually (2-5). This report describes the perce...

Background:Quality of life (QoL) and cognition for those with Long COVID is not well-characterized, but existing research suggests impairments in both persist beyond 12 months after initial illness. Methods:In this cross-sectional study, 435 participants with SARS-CoV-2 infection, confirmed with laboratory test or physician diagnosis, between March...

Background Patients who do not fully recover or develop new symptoms following SARS-CoV-2 infection require follow-up and sometimes seek care at specialized multidisciplinary care clinics. We aimed to describe the clinical characteristics and care needs of patients at three such post-COVID clinics. Methods We conducted a multisite retrospective el...

Background The expression of p16 protein, a surrogate marker for high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV), is associated with cervical dysplasia. We evaluated correlates of p16 expression at treatment for high-grade cervical lesions and its utility in predicting the recurrence of cervical intraepithelial lesions grade 2 or higher (CIN2+) following cr...

Assessment of humoral immune responses following human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination currently relies on invasive blood sampling. This longitudinal cohort study explores the usability of first-void urine as a noninvasive alternative sample for antibody detection. In this study, 58 women receiving three doses of the 9vHPV vaccine within a Gardasi...

Most human papillomavirus (HPV) surveillance studies target 30–50 of the more than 200 known types. We applied our recently described enriched whole-genome sequencing (eWGS) assay to demonstrate the impact of detecting all known and novel HPV types in male genital samples (n = 50). HPV was detected in nearly all (82%) samples, (mean number of types...

Background The clinical burden of Long COVID, myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), and other post-infectious fatiguing illnesses (PIFI) is increasing. There is a critical need to advance understanding of the effectiveness and sustainability of innovative approaches to clinical care of patients having these conditions. Metho...

Papillomaviruses are in the family Papillomaviridae . Human papillomavirus (HPV) initiates infection in primitive basal‐like epithelial cells, accessed through minor trauma or at specialized sites of epithelial transition, particularly the squamocolumnar junction. The epidemiology and transmission of genital and nongenital infections differ signifi...

Well characterized reference reagents are useful for assay validation, proficiency/competency assessment, daily run controls, and to improve inter-laboratory comparisons. Synthetic human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA fragments and plasmid clones are available, but synthetic fragments include limited segments of the HPV genome and many HPV plasmids have...

A 24-year-old woman is being seen for routine health care. She has not received any vaccinations against human papillomavirus (HPV). The patient initiated sexual activity at 18 years of age and has had three male sex partners. What would you recommend regarding HPV vaccination?

Background: Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a multisystem illness characterized by substantial reduction in function accompanied by profound unexplained fatigue not significantly relieved by rest, post-exertional malaise, and other symptoms. Reduced natural killer (NK) cell count and cytotoxicity has been investigate...

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of high-risk (HR) and vaccine-type human papillomavirus (HPV) infection among Thai schoolgirls who were not included in the national HPV immunization program. Methods: Cross-sectional surveys were conducted among grade 10 (15-16 years old) and grade 12 (17-18 years old) schoolgirls...

Prophylactic human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines are recommended for prevention of HPV-associated cancers. Type-specific detection of HPV in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues retrieved from diagnostic pathology laboratories is important in monitoring the impact of HPV vaccines. However, few typing assays have been validated for testin...

The HPV Serology Laboratory in the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research is working in partnership with the scientific community with the goal of standardizing and harmonizing current HPV serology assay platforms in response to the increasing number of immunobridging trials relying on serology data for approval of new vaccine dosing sch...

Background: Long-term symptoms following SARS-CoV-2 infection are a major concern, yet their prevalence is poorly understood. Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study comparing adults with SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID+) with adults who tested negative (COVID-), enrolled within 28 days of an FDA-approved SARS-CoV2 test result for active sy...

We advise that only clinically validated HPV assays which have fulfilled internationally accepted performance criteria be used for primary cervical screening. Further, assays should be demonstrated to be fit for purpose in the laboratory in which they will ultimately be performed, and quality materials manuals and frameworks will be helpful in this...

Background The recent World Health Organization recommendation supporting single-dose of HPV vaccine will significantly reduce programmatic cost, mitigate the supply shortage, and simplify logistics, thus allowing more low- and middle-income countries to introduce the vaccine. From a programmatic perspective the durability of protection offered by...

Declines in cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grades 2 to 3 and adenocarcinoma in situ (CIN2+) observed among young women suggest impact from human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination. To further evaluate vaccine impact including cross‐protection and type replacement, we described high‐risk (HR)‐HPV type‐specific cervical precancer incidence rates am...

Human papillomavirus (HPV) causes cervical cancer among women and is associated with other anogenital cancers in men and women. Prophylactic particulate vaccines that are affordable, self-administered and efficacious could improve uptake of HPV vaccines world-wide. The goal of this research is to develop a microparticulate HPV16 vaccine for transde...

Objectives: In the 2019 ASCCP Risk-Based Management Consensus Guidelines, clinical management decisions are based on immediate and 5-year cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) 3+ risk estimates. However, data for technologies other than human papillomavirus testing and cytology may be limited to clinical trials and observational studies of shor...

Health consequences that persist beyond the acute infection phase of COVID-19, termed post-COVID-19 condition (also commonly known as long COVID), vary widely and represent a growing global health challenge. Research on post-COVID-19 condition is expanding but, at present, no agreement exists on the health outcomes that should be measured in people...

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination was introduced in 2006 for females and in 2011 for males. Objective: To estimate vaccine impact and effectiveness against quadrivalent HPV vaccine (4vHPV)-type prevalent infection among sexually experienced U.S. females and vaccine effectiveness for sexually experienced U.S. males. Design: NHA...

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a common infection principally spread through sexual activity. Most HPV infections are asymptomatic and resolve spontaneously. However, persistent infection may progress to cervical cancer. Highly efficacious HPV vaccines have been available since 2006, yet uptake into national programs has been slow in part due to cos...

Objectives Since 2006, the US human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination program has led to decreases in HPV infections caused by high-risk vaccine-targeted HPV types (HPV 16/18). We assessed differences in high-risk HPV prevalence by cervical cytology result among 20- to 24-year-old persons participating in routine cervical cancer screening in 2015–20...

Background Cardiopulmonary exercise testing has demonstrated clinical utility in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). However, to what extent exercise responses are independent of, or confounded by, aerobic fitness remains unclear. Purpose To characterize and compare exercise responses in ME/CFS and controls with and withou...

Background Racial and ethnic variations in attribution of cervical precancer and cancer to HPV types may result in different HPV vaccine protection, screening test coverage, and clinical management. Methods Pooling data from seven U.S. studies, we calculated the proportional attribution of precancers and cancers to HPV types using HPV DNA typing f...

Background Orthostatic intolerance-OI is common in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome-ME/CFS. We used a 10-min passive vertical lean test as orthostatic challenge-OC and measured changes in vitals and end tidal CO2 (eTCO2). An abnormal physiologic response to OC was identified in 60% of the 63 patients evaluated from one to three ti...

Introduction Since human papillomavirus vaccine introduction, incidence rates of cervical precancers have decreased; however, the vaccine's impact on noncervical anogenital precancers has not been shown. These precancers are identified opportunistically and are not collected routinely by most cancer registries. Methods This study examined the inci...

Background Women living with HIV (WLWH) experience high rates of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and increased risk of cervical cancer. High-risk HPV (HR-HPV) types 16/18 cause most cervical precancers and cancers in women with and without HIV. However, contributions of other HR-HPV types to cervical disease among WLWH are not fully understood...

Background: Cognitive dysfunction is commonly reported by ME/CFS patients. Previous studies have shown ME/CFS-associated cognitive problems in attention/concentration, learning, information processing speed, and working memory. Objectives: Evaluate whether CogState computerized tests for assessing cognitive function changes after physical/cognitiv...

Importance Persistence of cervical high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) after treatment for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 or higher (CIN2+) has not been compared between cryotherapy and loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP) among HIV-positive women. Objective To evaluate whether cryotherapy or LEEP is more effective at clea...

Well-characterized HPV serology assays are required to evaluate performance of biosimilar candidate vaccines, reduced dosing schedules and novel administration methods. We report characterization of an expanded assay, M9ELISA, that detects antibodies to HPV virus-like particles (VLP) of nine types using direct IgG ELISA on the Meso Scale Discovery...

Background In the United States, HPV vaccination has been recommended since 2011 for males aged 11–12 years, with catch-up vaccination recommended through age 26 years for previously unvaccinated men who have sex with men (MSM). Methods During 2016-2018, a cross-sectional study enrolled MSM and transgender women aged 18–26 years in Seattle, Washin...

Background US population‐based cancer registries can be used for surveillance of human papillomavirus (HPV) types found in HPV‐associated cancers. Using this framework, HPV prevalence among high‐grade cervical precancers and invasive cervical cancers were compared before and after HPV vaccine availability. Methods Archived tissue from 2 studies of...

Background: Apparent associations between HPV prevalence and age observed in cross-sectional studies could be misleading if cohort effects influence HPV detection. Methods: Using data from 2003-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES), we evaluated overall and 10-year birth cohort-specific cervicovaginal HPV prevalence est...

Background: We assessed sensitivity of self-reported HPV vaccination among young adult men who have sex with men (MSM) with documented HPV vaccination. Methods: During 2016-2018, MSM and transgender women aged 18-26 years were enrolled in Seattle, Washington. HPV vaccination history was assessed via self-administered survey, clinic electronic me...

Background Juvenile-onset recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (JORRP) is a rare disease characterized by the growth of papillomas in the respiratory tract. In the United States, JORRP is not a nationally notifiable condition and current data are limited. Methods Children with JORRP aged <18 years were enrolled from 26 pediatric otolaryngology cen...

Background: Patterns of human papillomavirus (HPV) prevalence by age differ by sex. To further the descriptive epidemiology of genital HPV, we analyzed prevalence by age for non-vaccine-(non-4vHPV)-type and vaccine-(4vHPV)-type HPV by sex using 2013-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data, the first 4 years of national data from...

Documenting the importance of NK cell function as a biomarker for diseases and physiologic conditions including myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), will require assays amenable to clinical implementation and standardization. Research studies typically perform NK functional assays on the day of sample collection. This pilot...

Objective: The aim of the study was to describe trends in human papillomavirus (HPV) testing preceding diagnosis of cervical precancer during a time of changing screening recommendations. Materials and methods: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of data from active, population-based, laboratory surveillance among 1.5 million residents of 5...

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States; men who have sex with men (MSM) have higher prevalence of infection and related disease compared with other men. We assessed whether differences in HPV acquisition exist among MSM according to their sexual positioning practices as well as...

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States (1). Although most infections resolve without clinical sequalae, persistent HPV infection can cause cervical, other anogenital, and oropharyngeal cancers and anogenital warts. HPV vaccination has been recommended in the United States at age 11-12 years...

High-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) is prevalent and known to cause 5% of all cancers worldwide. The rare, cancer prone Fanconi anemia (FA) population is characterized by a predisposition to both head and neck squamous cell carcinomas and gynecological cancers, but the role of HPV in these cancers remains unclear. Prompted by a patient-family advo...

Background Juvenile onset recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (JORRP) is a rare and serious disease caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) presumably acquired during vaginal delivery. HPV vaccination of females through age 26 years, recommended in the United States since 2006, can prevent HPV transmission. We assessed trends in JORRP cases before an...

High-throughput HPV typing assays with increased automation, faster turnaround and type-specific digital readout would facilitate studies monitoring the impact of HPV vaccination. We evaluated the NanoString nCounter® platform for detection and digital readout of 48 HPV types in a single reaction. NanoString (NS) used proprietary software to design...

Introduction: Human papillomavirus (HPV) can cause anogenital warts and several types of cancer, including cervical cancers and precancers. We estimated the prevalence, incidence, and number of persons with prevalent and incident HPV infections in the United States in 2018. Methods: Prevalence and incidence were estimated for infections with any...

Background Immune dysfunction related to HIV infection is associated with an inability to clear HPV infection and may compromise the immunogenicity of quadrivalent HPV vaccine Gardasil® (4v HPV). Methods Between 2005 and 2017, males and females 7 to 20 years old age, were offered 3-dose 4v HPV vaccine. Plasma IgG titers to HPV 6 (H6), 11 (H11), 16...

Objective In the United States, HPV vaccination is routinely recommended at age 11 or 12 years; the series can be started at age 9. We conducted a cohort study to assess long-term immunogenicity of quadrivalent HPV vaccine (4vHPV) in an American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) Indigenous population. Methods During 2011–2014, we enrolled AI/AN girls a...

Introduction Whether existing serological assays are sufficiently robust to measure the lower antibody levels expected following single-dose HPV vaccination is unknown. Methods We evaluated seven assays measuring HPV-16/18 immunological responses overall and by number of doses in 530 serum samples from participants receiving varying doses of Cerva...

Human papillomavirus virus (HPV) vaccines aim to provide durable protection and are ideal to study the association of cellular with humoral responses. We assessed the duration and characteristics of immune responses provided by the quadrivalent HPV (4vHPV) vaccine in healthy female adults with or without prior exposure with type 16 and 18 HPV. In a...

We recently developed a test based on the Agilent SureSelect target enrichment system capturing genomic fragments from 191 human papillomaviruses (HPV) types for Illumina sequencing. This enriched whole genome sequencing (eWGS) assay provides an approach to identify all HPV types in a sample. Here we present a machine learning algorithm that calls...

Background: In the United States, human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination has been recommended for young adult men who have sex with men (MSM) since 2011. Methods: The Vaccine Impact in Men (VIM) study surveyed MSM and transgender women aged 18-26 years in 3 U.S. cities during 2016-2018. Self-collected anal swab and oral rinse specimens were asse...

Objective: We adapted the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies 2 (QUADAS-2) tool for studies of cervical cancer screening and management and used the adapted tool to evaluate the quality of studies included in a systematic review supporting the 2019 Risk-Based Management Consensus Guidelines. Methods: We evaluated the quality of all...

Objective: For the 2019 ASCCP Risk-Based Management Consensus Guidelines, we conducted a systematic review of diagnostic assays for postcolposcopy and posttreatment management. Materials and methods: A literature search was conducted to identify articles reporting on tests/assays for cervical cancer screening, triage, postcolposcopy surveillance...

Vaccine‐induced human papillomavirus (HPV) antibodies originating from cervicovaginal secretions were recently shown to be detectable in first‐void (FV) urine. This presents a novel opportunity for noninvasive sampling to monitor HPV antibody status in women participating in large epidemiological studies and HPV vaccine trials. With a view towards...

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a common sexually transmitted infection. Men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women (TGW) are at high risk for anal HPV infection and subsequent anal cancer. This study assessed the association of partner discordances with prevalent high-risk anal HPV (HRAHPV) among MSM and TGW. Methods: Parti...

For Brazil, there are no nationwide data on HPV prevalence against which the impact of the HPV immunization program can be measured in the future. Therefore, we aim to evaluate the prevalence of genital HPV infection among adolescents and young adults in Brazil. A cross-sectional, multicentric, nationwide survey was conducted between September 2016...

Background: The first HPV vaccines licensed targeted two HPV types responsible for most cervical cancers. A 9-valent vaccine (9vHPV), targeting 5 additional types, was introduced in 2016 and is currently the only HPV vaccine available in the United States. Previous studies demonstrated high rates of HPV infection in Alaska Native (AN) women. We so...

Objective: There is a high prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in Puerto Rico, but little is known about the prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) infection in healthy Puerto Rican women. Thus we aimed to evaluate the seroprevalence and association and the association between HPV and CT. Methods: This was a secondary data analy...

The quadrivalent HPV vaccine (4vHPV) was originally recommended as a three-dose series (0/2/6 months), though delays in completing the series frequently occur. We previously found delayed dosing in girls resulted in similar or higher antibody titers compared to on-time dosing. Archived sera from 262 healthy females aged 9–18 recruited from pediatri...

Rapid and accurate identification of human papillomavirus (HPV) is important for both clinical management and population screening. We performed analytic validation of Atila AmpFire Multiplex HPV assays on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) cervix/vulva and oropharynx diagnostic tissue samples. The AmpFire assay incorporates a novel isotherma...

Objective Studies of mRNA and miRNA expression profiling increasingly use stabilized whole blood. Commercial RNA extraction kits do not provide information about the simultaneous recovery of both mRNA and miRNA. This study evaluated yield, quality, integrity and representation of mRNA and miRNA from whole blood stabilized in Tempus tubes using thre...

Background: Highly effective human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines are used in many national programs in 3- or 2-dose schedules. We examined HPV vaccine effectiveness against HPV prevalence by number of doses. Methods: We collected residual liquid-based cytology samples from US women aged 20-29 years who were screened for cervical cancer. Women co...