PRINCIPAL MOLECULAR THECNIQUES FOR DETECTING HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUS

Nowadays, there is a great concern with the development of HPV (Human Papillomavirus) virus infection diagnosis. HPV virushas been responsible for main sexually transmissible diseases of viral etiology and shows correlation with malignant processesand precursory lesions in uterine cervix. This research shows the main actually available techniques of molecular detection forHPV diagnosis, as PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction), Hybrid Capture and In Situ Hibridization, giving emphasis to PCR. It alsodiscusses about the sensibility of molecular assays as PCR and Real Time PCR for HPV detection in epithelial tissues beforethe occurrence of lesions or symptoms. This study has shown that PCR technique, when compared to other available detectiontests, has superior sensibility. This technique is also able to detect a reduced amount of samples and it allows the verification ofinfections by multiple virus subtypes, as well as the evaluation of oncogenic risk of viral infecting population.