Clinical samples and biological assays
Cervices were sampled before registration and at 16 and 24 weeks after the first study dose in outpatient clinics. Peripheral blood for immunological evaluation and exfoliated cervical cells for cytological and virological evaluation were sampled at study weeks 9, 16, and 24. Peripheral blood monocytes were isolated within several hours after blood sampling, frozen gently, and stored at −80ºC until bulk analysis. Exfoliated cervical cells for virological evaluation were transferred to a central laboratory. Viral status was assayed using the PCR-rSSO (Polymerase chain reaction-reverse sequence specific oligonuclotide) HPV genotyping method (Luminex, Belgium). For immunological analyses, peripheral blood monocytes were cultured with HPV-16 E7 overlapping peptides for 2 weeks in the presence of interleukin-7 and -15 to expand HPV-16 E7–specific T cells (