Abstract

Background: There are few exploratory studies on Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection and cervical cancer in indigenous populations. Because these women represent a very peculiar population in terms of habits and cultural rituals of its own, HPV infection and its related-oncogenesis potential could not denote the same progression characteristics as compared to the other populations commonly studied. The aim of this study was to evaluate 13 years of cervical cancer screening actions and assistance in the Xingu Indigenous Park, through cytological analysis and DNA-HPV molecular test.

Methods: This is an observational, transversal and retrospective study conducted by data analysis of screening and control actions of uterine cervical HPV-associated lesions in the scope of the Xingu project supported by the Universidad Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), Brazil. The population studied consisted of indigenous, sexually active women, aged 11 years or older, belonging to sixteen ethnic groups residing in the middle, lower and east Xingu regions. The women were screening for conventional cervical screening test (Pap test) and HPV tests.

Results: The population coverage for cytological analyses in the entire period averaged 89.4%. Only 3 cases of cervical cancer were documented over the 13 years of follow-up. The HPV positivity rate was 24.5% and latency 22.9%.

Conclusions: It was observed that the high coverage of the population was valuable in maintaining the quality of screening because of the large number of normal Pap tests and rare cases of cancer compared to the national incidence.

Keywords: HPV; Xingu indigenous park; Cervical cancer screening; Indigenous; Uterine cervical cancer