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Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted virus. Worldwide, the most common high-risk (HR)-HPV are -16/18, and approximately 70% of cervical cancers (CC) are due to infection by these genotypes. Persistent infection by HR-HPV is a necessary but not sufficient cause of this cancer, which develops over a long period through precursor lesions, which can be detected by cytological screening. Although this screening has decreased the incidence of CC, HPV-related cervical disease, including premalignant and malignant lesions, continues to be a major burden on health-care systems. Although not completely elucidated, the HPV-driven molecular mechanisms underlying the development of cervical lesions have provided a number of potential biomarkers for both diagnostic and prognostic use in the clinical management of women with HPV-related cervical disease, and these biomarkers can also be used to increase the positive predictive value of current screening methods. In addition, they can provide insights into the biology of HPV-induced cancer and thus lead to the development of nonsurgical therapies. Considering the importance of detecting HPV and related biomarkers, a variety of methods are being developed for these purposes. This review summarizes current knowledge of detection methods for HPV, and related biomarkers that can be used to discriminate lesions with a high risk of progression to CC.

Worldwide, cervical cancer is a leading cause of cancer related morbidity and mortality. For over 50 years, cervical cytology has been the gold standard for cervical cancer screening. Because of its profound effect on cervical cancer mortality in nations that have adopted screening programs, the Pap smear is widely accepted as the model screening test. Since its introduction, many studies have analyzed the Pap smear and found that it is not without its shortcomings including low sensitivity for detection of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 2/3. Additionally, the discovery of infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV) as a necessary step in the development of cervical cancer has led to the development of HPV testing as an adjunct to cytology screening. More recently, researchers have compared HPV testing and cytology in the primary screening of cervical cancer. In this review, we will discuss cytologic testing limitations, the role of HPV DNA testing as an alternative screening tool, the impact of the HPV vaccine on screening, and future directions in cervical cancer screening.

Cervical cancer is the second largest cause of cancer deaths in women worldwide, with ~500,000 diagnoses and 274,000 deaths annually. It remains a significant source of morbidity and mortality despite effective screening tools and treatments for its precursor high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN). Increased understanding of cervical pathogenesis has led to the identification of human papillomavirus (HPV) as the etiological agent for cervical cancer and the development of preventive and therapeutic vaccines targeting HPV antigens for the control of cervical cancer. Herein, we discuss the current status of HPV vaccines.

Cervical infections by approximately 15 cancer-associated (carcinogenic) human papillomavirus (HPV) genotypes cause virtually all cervical cancer and its immediate precursor lesions worldwide. Prophylactic vaccines against human papillomavirus (HPV) types HPV16 and HP18, which cause 70% of cervical cancer worldwide, hold great promise for reducing the burden of cervical cancer worldwide. However, current HPV vaccines prevent future infections and related cervical abnormalities and do not treat pre-existing HPV infections. In the U.S., HPV vaccine introduction should be considered in the context of a very successful cervical cancer screening program that has reduced the rates of cervical cancer by 75% or more. Thus, HPV vaccines will only prevent an incremental number of additional cervical cancers in the U.S. The introduction of HPV vaccines can also prevent other HPV-related sequelae, most importantly cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 or 3 (CIN2/3), which precede the development of cervical cancer and require clinical follow-up and treatment. Examining data from 7 clinical centers in the U.S., the median age of CIN2/3 is typically between 25-30 years of age in 2007; if screen-detected CIN2/3 develops on average 5-10 years after the causal infection is acquired, HPV vaccination will only prevent a significant proportion of CIN2/3 if it is given to women before the age of 26 and more so if given to women 18 and younger. It is increasingly evident that prophylactic HPV vaccines will provide the greatest public health or population benefit only when delivered to adolescent women.

Cervical cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death in women worldwide and the development of new diagnosis, prognostic, and treatment strategies merits special attention. Although surgery and chemoradiotherapy can cure 80%–95% of women with early stage cancer, the recurrent and metastatic disease remains a major cause of cancer death. Many efforts have been made to design new drugs and develop gene therapies to treat cervical cancer. In recent decades, research on treatment strategies has proposed several options, including the role of HPV E6 and E7 oncogenes, which are retained and expressed in most cervical cancers and whose respective oncoproteins are critical to the induction and maintenance of the malignant phenotype. Other efforts have been focused on antitumor immunotherapy strategies. It is known that during the development of cervical cancer, a cascade of abnormal events is induced, including disruption of cellular cycle control, perturbation of antitumor immune response, alteration of gene expression, and deregulation of microRNA expression. Thus, in this review article we discuss potential targets for the treatment of cervical cancer associated with HPV infection, with special attention to immunotherapy approaches, clinical trials, siRNA molecules, and their implications as gene therapy strategies against cervical cancer development.

Background

Cervical cancer is now considered the second leading cause of death among women worldwide, and its incidence has reached alarming levels, especially in developing countries. Similarly, high grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL), the precursor stage for cervical cancer, represents a growing health problem among younger women as the HSIL management regimes that have been developed are not fully effective. From the etiological point of view, the presence of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) has been demonstrated to play a crucial role for developing cervical malignancies, and viral DNA has been detected in 99.7% of cervical tumors at the later stages. CIGB-300 is a novel cyclic synthetic peptide that induces apoptosis in malignant cells and elicits antitumor activity in cancer animal models. CIGB-300 impairs the Casein Kinase (CK2) phosphorylation, by targeting the substrate's phosphoaceptor domain. Based on the perspectives of CIGB-300 to treat cancer, this "first-in-human" study investigated its safety and tolerability in patients with cervical malignancies.

Methods

Thirty-one women with colposcopically and histologically diagnosed microinvasive or pre-invasive cervical cancer were enrolled in a dose escalating study. CIGB-300 was administered sequentially at 14, 70, 245 and 490 mg by intralesional injections during 5 consecutive days to groups of 7 – 10 patients. Toxicity was monitored daily until fifteen days after the end of treatment, when patients underwent conization. Digital colposcopy, histology, and HPV status were also evaluated.

Results

No maximum-tolerated dose or dose-limiting toxicity was achieved. The most frequent local events were pain, bleeding, hematoma and erythema at the injection site. The systemic adverse events were rash, facial edema, itching, hot flashes, and localized cramps. 75% of the patients experienced a significant lesion reduction at colposcopy and 19% exhibited full histological regression. HPV DNA was negative in 48% of the previously positive patients. Long term follow-up did not reveal recurrences or adverse events.

Conclusion

CIGB 300 was safe and well tolerated. This is the first clinical trial where a drug has been used to target the CK2 phosphoaceptor domain providing an early proof-of-principle of a possible clinical benefit.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected women in India and other developing country settings are living longer on antiretroviral therapy, yet their risk for human papillomavirus (HPV)-induced cervical cancer remains unabated because of lack of cost-effective and accurate secondary prevention methods. Visual inspection after application of dilute acetic acid on the cervix (VIA) has not been adequately studied against the current standard: conventional cervical cytology (Pap smears) among HIV-infected women. We evaluated 303 nonpregnant HIV-infected women in Pune, India, by simultaneous and independent screening with VIA and cervical cytology with disease ascertainment by colposcopy and histopathology. At the cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN2+) disease threshold, the sensitivity, specificity and positive and negative predictive value estimates of VIA were 80, 82.6, 47.6 and 95.4% respectively, compared to 60.5, 59.6, 22.4 and 88.7% for the atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance or severe (ASCUS+) cutoff on cytology, 60.5, 64.6, 24.8 and 89.4% for the low-grade squamous intraepithelial cells or severe (LSIL+) cutoff on cytology and 20.9, 96.0, 50.0 and 86.3% for high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion or severe (HSIL+) cutoff on cytology. A similar pattern of results was found for women with the presence of carcinogenic HPV-positive CIN2+ disease, as well as for women with CD4+ cell counts <200 and <350 µL−1. Overall, VIA performed better than cytology in this study with biologically rigorous endpoints and without verification bias, suggesting that VIA is a practical and useful alternative or adjunctive screening test for HIV-infected women. Implementing VIA-based screening within HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome care programs may provide an easy and practical means of complementing the highly anticipated low-cost HPV-based rapid screening tests in the near future, thereby contributing to improve program effectiveness of screening.

Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is responsible for 99.7% of cervical cancer cases and an estimated 5% of all cancers worldwide. The largest burden from HPV-associated cervical cancers is in developing nations where effective cervical cancer screening programs are non-existent. Even in developed nations, diagnosis and treatment of cervical precancers continue to be large economic burdens. Prophylactic vaccination against HPV is an ideal method for the prevention of cervical cancer and other HPV associated diseases. Safe and effective virus-like-particle-derived prophylactic vaccines are available to most nations. The high cost of the current vaccines makes it out of reach for most developing nations. Since millions of women are already infected with HPV and have serious disease, therapeutic HPV vaccines are being developed to treat these women. The article presents the natural history, oncogenesis, and host immune interactions of HPV and associated diseases. The article also discusses the safety and efficacy of commercially available prophylactic vaccines against HPV, as well as novel prophylactic and therapeutic vaccine delivery strategies in early clinical development.

Cervical cancer is the second most common female tumor worldwide and its incidence is disproportionately high (>80%) in the developing world. In the U.S., where Pap tests have reduced the annual incidence to approximately 11,000 cervical cancers, more than 60% of cases occur in medically-underserved populations as part of a complex of diseases linked to poverty, race/ethnicity, and/or health disparities. Because carcinogenic human papillomavirus (HPV) infections cause virtually all cervical cancer, two new approaches for cervical cancer prevention have emerged: 1) HPV vaccination to prevent infections in younger women (≤18 years old) and 2) carcinogenic HPV detection in older women (≥30 years old). Together, HPV vaccination and testing, if used in an age-appropriate manner, have the potential to transform cervical cancer prevention particularly among underserved populations. Yet significant barriers of access, acceptability, and adoption to any cervical cancer prevention strategy remain. Without understanding and addressing these obstacles, these promising new tools for cervical cancer prevention may be futile. We share our experiences in the delivery of cervical cancer prevention strategies to U.S. populations experiencing high cervical cancer burden: African-American women in South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi; Haitian immigrant women in Miami; Hispanic women in the U.S.-Mexico Border; Sioux/Native American women in the Northern Plains; white women in the Appalachia; and Vietnamese-American women in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Our goal is to inform future research and outreach efforts to reduce the burden of cervical cancer in underserved populations.

Cervical cancer remains to be one of the leading malignancies among Filipino women. High-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) types, such as 16 and 18, are consistently identified in Filipino women with cervical cancer. Factors identified to increase the likelihood of HPV infection and subsequent development of cervical cancer include young age at first intercourse, low socioeconomic status, high parity, smoking, use of oral contraception and risky sexual behaviors. Cancer screening programs presently available in the Philippines include Pap smears, single visit approach utilizing visual inspection with acetic acid followed by cryotherapy, as well as colposcopy. However, the uptake of screening remains low and is further compounded by the lack of basic knowledge women have regarding screening as an opportunity for prevention of cervical cancer. Prophylactic HPV vaccination of both quadrivalent and bivalent vaccines has already been approved in the Philippines and is gaining popularity among the Filipinos. However, there has been no national or government vaccination policy implemented as of yet. The standard of treatment of cervical cancer is radiotherapy concurrent with chemotherapy. Current researches are directed towards improving availability of both preventive and curative measures of cervical cancer management.

Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women worldwide. This is caused by oncogenic types of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. Although large numbers of young sexually active women get HPV-infected, only a small fraction develop cervical cancer. This points to different co-factors for regression of HPV infection or progression to cervical cancer. Host genetic factors play an important role in the outcome of such complex or multifactor diseases such as cervical cancer and are also known to regulate the rate of disease progression. The aim of this review is to compile the advances in the field of host genetics of cervical cancer. MEDLINE database was searched using the terms, ‘HPV’, ‘cervical’, ‘CIN’, ‘polymorphism(s)’, ‘cervical’+ *the name of the gene* and ‘HPV’+ *the name of the gene*. This review focuses on the major host genes reported to affect the progression to cervical cancer in HPV infected individuals.

Background

Cancer of the cervix is the most common malignancy in women of childbearing age in Zambia. It is known to be associated with HIV infection and oncogenic strains of HPV. However, there are few studies of penile lesions as a predictor of malignant and premalignant cervical lesions in female partners.

Objectives

The aim of the study was to determine the association between men with penile lesions and premalignant cervical lesions in their female partners.

Design

Thirty-seven couples were screened for penile and cervical lesions to determine the association between the two. The male partners had a biopsy and the female partners had a Pap smear.

Results

Among 37 female partners, 29 (78.3%) had some type of cervical lesion. Two (5.4%) were undetermined and 6 (16.3%) of the females had normal Pap smears. Among the spouses with diseased cervices 22 (59.4%) were premalignant and 5 (13.5%) were malignant. The combined prevalence of malignant or premalignant cervical lesions among female partners was 73.0%. The HIV prevalence in the cohort was 88.9% (among those who agreed to be tested). The prevalence of premalignant or malignant cervical lesions was 75% in HIV positive and HIV negative females, and 66.7% in those who refused HIV testing.

Conclusion

This small pilot study suggests a high prevalence of premalignant or malignant lesions in females whose partners have penile lesions. In this cohort, HIV infection was not associated with a higher risk of neoplastic cervical lesions.

Background

Screening tests for cervical cancer are effective in reducing the disease burden. In Thailand, a Pap smear program has been implemented throughout the country for 40 years. In 2008 the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) unexpectedly decided to scale up the coverage of free cervical cancer screening services, to meet an ambitious target. This study analyzes the processes and factors that drove this policy innovation in the area of cervical cancer control in Thailand.

Methods

In-depth interviews with key policy actors and review of relevant documents were conducted in 2009. Data analysis was guided by a framework, developed on public policy models and existing literature on scaling-up health care interventions.

Results

Between 2006 and 2008 international organizations and the vaccine industry advocated the introduction of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine for the primary prevention of cervical cancer. Meanwhile, a local study suggested that the vaccine was considerably less cost-effective than cervical cancer screening in the Thai context. Then, from August to December 2008, the MoPH carried out a campaign to expand the coverage of its cervical cancer screening program, targeting one million women. The study reveals that several factors were influential in focusing the attention of policymakers on strengthening the screening services. These included the high burden of cervical cancer in Thailand, the launch of the HPV vaccine onto the global and domestic markets, the country’s political instability, and the dissemination of scientific evidence regarding the appropriateness of different options for cervical cancer prevention. Influenced by the country’s political crisis, the MoPH’s campaign was devised in a very short time. In the view of the responsible health officials, the campaign was not successful and indeed, did not achieve its ambitious target.

Conclusion

The Thai case study suggests that the political crisis was a crucial factor that drew the attention of policymakers to the cervical cancer problem and led the government to adopt a policy of expanding coverage of screening services. At the same time, the instability in the political system impeded the scaling up process, as it constrained the formulation and implementation of the policy in the later phase.

The annual worldwide burden of the preventable disease cervical cancer is over 530,000 new cases and 275,000 deaths, with the majority occurring in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where cervical cancer screening and early treatment are uncommon. Widely used in high-income countries, Pap smear (cytology-based) screening is expensive and challenging for implementation in LMICs, where lower-cost, effective alternatives such as visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) and rapid human papillomavirus (HPV)-based screening tests offer promise for scaling up prevention services. Integrating HPV screening with VIA in “screen-and-treat-or-refer”’ programs offers the dual benefits of HPV screening to maximize detection and using VIA to triage for advanced lesions/cancer, as well as a pelvic exam to address other gynecologic issues. A major issue in LMICs is co-infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and HPV, which further increases the risk for cervical cancer and marks a population with perhaps the greatest need of cervical cancer prevention. Public-private partnerships to enhance the availability of cervical cancer prevention services within HIV/AIDS care delivery platforms through initiatives such as Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon® present an historic opportunity to expand cervical cancer screening in LMICs.

There is an urgent global need for effective and affordable approaches to cervical cancer screening and diagnosis. For developing nations, cervical malignancies remain the leading cause of cancer death in women. This reality is difficult to accept given that these deaths are largely preventable; where cervical screening programs are implemented, cervical cancer deaths decrease dramatically. In the developed world, the challenges with respect to cervical disease stem from high costs and over-treatment. We are presently eleven years into a National Cancer Institute-funded Program Project (P01 CA82710) that is evaluating optical technologies for their applicability to the cervical cancer problem. Our mandate is to create new tools for disease detection and diagnosis that are inexpensive, require minimal expertise to use, are more accurate than existing modalities, and will be feasibly implemented in a variety of clinical settings. Herein, we update the status of this work and explain the long-term goals of this project.

Background

HIV-infected women are at increased risk for developing cervical cancer. Women living in resource-limited countries are especially at risk due to poor access to cervical cancer screening and treatment. We evaluated three cervical cancer screening methods to detect cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 and above (CIN 2+) in HIV-infected women in South Africa; Pap smear, visual inspection with 5% acetic acid (VIA) and human papillomavirus detection (HPV).

Methods

HIV-infected women aged 18–65 were recruited in Johannesburg. A cross-sectional study evaluating three screening methods for the detection of the histologically-defined gold standard CIN-2 + was performed. Women were screened for cervical abnormalities with the Digene HC2 assay (HPV), Pap smear and VIA. VIA was performed by clinic nurses, digital photographs taken and then later reviewed by specialist physicians. The sensitivity, specificity and predictive valves for CIN-2 + were calculated using maximum likelihood estimators.

Results

1,202 HIV-infected women participated, with a median age of 38 years and CD4 counts of 394 cells/mm3. One third of women had a high grade lesion on cytology. VIA and HPV were positive in 45% and 61% of women respectively. Estimated sensitivity/specificity for HPV, Pap smear and VIA for CIN 2+ was 92%/51.4%, 75.8%/83.4% and 65.4/68.5% (nurse reading), respectively. Sensitivities were similar, and specificities appeared significantly lower for the HPV test, cytology and VIA among women with CD4 counts ≤200 cells/mm3 as compared to CD4 counts >350 cells/mm3.

Conclusions

Although HPV was the most sensitive screening method for detecting CIN 2+, it was less specific than conventional cytology and VIA with digital imaging review. Screening programs may need to be individualized in context of the resources and capacity in each area.

Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common cause of cervical cancer. Cervical cancer being the second most common cancer after lung cancer, affecting women of different age groups; has a prevalence of about 20% in young sexually active women. Among different types of HPV, HPV16 the major strain causing this cancer and is sexually transmitted had been unnoticed for decades. Keeping in mind the multiple risk factors related with cervical cancer such as early age sexual activities, teenage pregnancies, smoking, use of oral contraceptives, having multiple sex partners, hormone replacement therapies and various other unknown factors lead to the onset of the disease. Awareness for various diagnostic procedures such as Pap smears screening prove to be an effective way in eradicating the oncogenic potential of HPV.

Background:

High-risk human papillomavirus (H-HPV) infection is linked to cervical neoplasia but its role in detecting cervical glandular lesions (GLs) is unclear. Carbonic anhydrase IX (CA-IX) is a hypoxic biomarker that is highly expressed in neoplastic cervical GLs. The diagnostic utility of these biomarkers was evaluated by the Gynecologic Oncology Group in Japanese women with a cytological diagnosis of atypical glandular cells.

Methods:

Immunostaining was used to detect CA-IX in a conventional Pap smear. Immunoreactivity of CA-IX was interpreted by a panel of pathologists blinded to the histological diagnosis. Polymerase chain reaction was used to detect H-HPV in a liquid-based cytology specimen.

Results:

Significant cervical lesions (SCLs), defined as cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN2, CIN3), adenocarcinoma in situ or invasive carcinoma, were observed in 37/88 (42%) of women. CA-IX testing alone (n=88) had a sensitivity of 89, 100 or 73% for SCLs, GLs or significant squamous lesions (SLs), respectively, with a false negative rate (FNR) of 14%. Testing for H-HPV (n=84) had a sensitivity of 65, 53 or 80% for SCLs, GLs or SLs, respectively, with a FNR of 22%. The combination of CA-IX and H-HPV testing had a sensitivity of 97, 100 or 93% for SCLs, GLs or SLs, respectively, with a FNR of 5%. Among eight H-HPV-negative GLs, six (75%) had a diagnosis of lobular endocervical glandular hyperplasia (LEGH).

Conclusion:

The combination of CA-IX and HPV testing improved the diagnostic accuracy. The low rate of H-HPV positivity in the GLs was associated with coexisting LEGH independent of H-HPV.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is associated with almost all cases of cervical cancer, and cervical cancer is a common malignancy in women living in developing countries. A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence of HPV infection, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, and cervical cytologic abnormalities in women presenting to a sexually transmitted infections clinic in Kampala, Uganda. In June and July, 2002, 135 women underwent complete physical exams including Papanicolaou (Pap) smears. HIV status was evaluated by serology. Cervical and vaginal swabs were obtained by clinicians and tested for HPV genotypes by PCR/reverse blot strip assay. Of the 106 women with cervical swabs adequate for HPV testing, the HPV prevalence was 46.2% (49/106). HIV prevalence was 34.9% (37/106). High risk genotypes 52, 58, and 16 were the genotypes detected most commonly. Eighteen percent (9/49) of women infected with HPV were found to have genotypes 16 and/or 18. Seventy-three percent (27/37) of HIV-positive women versus 16% (10/63) of HIV-negative women had abnormal Pap smears (P <0.0001). Among HIV-positive women, abnormal Pap smears were associated with the presence of high risk HPV genotypes (P <0.001). The majority of women infected with HPV attending this sexually transmitted infections clinic in Uganda were infected with high risk HPV genotypes other than 16 and 18. Future studies should focus on whether current HPV vaccine formulations, that are limited to high risk genotypes 16 and 18, would be effective at decreasing the burden of cervical cancer in this population.

Summary

We contrast the efforts to treat ovarian cancer and cervical cancer through vaccination because of their different pathobiology. A plethora of approaches have been developed for therapeutic vaccination against cancer, many of which target defined tumor-associated antigens (TAAs). Persistent infection with oncogenic human papillomavirus (HPV) types is necessary cause of cervical cancer. Furthermore, cervical cancer patients frequently mount both humoral and T cell immune responses to the HPV E6 and E7 oncoproteins, whose expression is required for the transformed phenotype. Numerous vaccine studies target these viral TAAs, including recent trials that may enhance clearance of pre-malignant disease. By contrast little is known about the etiology of epithelial ovarian cancer. Although it is clear that p53 mutation or loss is a critical early event in the development of epithelial ovarian cancer, no precursor lesion has been described for the most common serous histotype, and even the location of its origin is debated. These issues have complicated the selection of appropriate ovarian TAAs and the design of vaccines. Here we focus on mesothelin as a promising ovarian TAA because it is overexpressed and immunogenic at high frequency in patients, is displayed on the cell surface and potentially contributes to ovarian cancer biology.

Cervical cancer lesions represent a major threat to the health of the women worldwide. Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is responsible for 99.7% of cervical cancer cases, the infectious etiology giving the possibility of preventing cervical cancer by vaccination. The most aggressive HPV types are 16 and 18, which cause about 70% of cases of invasive cancer. The vaccination is recommended to the girls aged 11–12. The diagnosis and the treatment of cervical preinvasive disease allow the doctor to prevent the development of the invasive disease.

Background

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection plays an etiological role in the development of cervical dysplasia and cancer. Amplification of human telomerase gene (hTERC) and over expression of telomerase were found to be associated with cervical tumorigenesis. This study was performed to analyze genomic amplification of hTERC gene, telomerase activity in association with HPV infection in different stages of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and cervical cancer. We were studying the role of hTERC in the progression of uterine cervical dysplasia to invasive cancer, and proposed an adjunct method for cervical cancer screening.

Methods

Exfoliated cervical cells were collected from 114 patients with non neoplastic lesion (NNL, n=27), cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN1, n=26, CIN2, n=16, CIN3, n=24) and cervical carcinoma (CA, n=21), and analyzed for amplification of hTERC with two-color fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) probe and HPV-DNA with Hybrid Capture 2.

From these patients, 53 were taken biopsy to analyze telomerase activity by telomeric repeat amplification protocol (TRAP) and expression of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT), with immunohistochemistry (IHC). All biopsies were clinically confirmed by phathologists.

Results

Amplification of hTERC was significantly associated with the histologic diagnoses (p<0.05). The positive correlation was found between the level of hTERC amplification and histologic grading of dysplasia (CIN2/3 from CIN1 or normal, P=0.03). A profounding increase in the accumulation of HPV and hTERC positive cases was observed in the CIN3 subgroup compared with the CIN2 group, 25% versus 62.96%, respectively (p=0.007).

Conclusions

hTERC ampliffication can be detected with FISH technique on exfoliated cervical cells. Amplification of hTERC and HPV infection are associated with more progressive CIN3 and CA. The testing of hTERC amplification might be a supplementary to cytology screening and HPV test, especially high-risk patients.

Virtual slides

The virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/1857134686755648.

Objective: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the major cause of cervical carcinoma and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia worldwide. Certain HPV types have a strong association with and probably a causative role in the pathogenesis of premalignant cervical lesions. Epidemiologic studies in women infected by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) have shown an increased incidence of squamous intraepithelial lesions (SILs), whichwere predominantly high-grade. Six to 30 per cent of women diagnosed with atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS) on a Papanicolaou (Pap) smear harbor SIL in normal screening populations. This study was undertaken to determine the presence of low- and high-risk HPV types in women infected by HIV and to correlate the results to those of the Pap smear.

Study design: HPV DNA typing (low- and high-risk) by Digene™ (Digene Corporation, Gathesburg, MD) hybrid capture methodology was performed on cervical swabs from 209 HIV-positive women. The results of HPV typing were correlated with those of the Pap smear in a retrospective analysis.

Results: One hundred and one women (48%) tested positive for HPV subtypes by DNA typing by the hybrid capture method. Of these, 64 patients (63%) had Pap smears whichwere read as being normal, having benign cellular changes, or having ASCUS (favor reactive process). Of these, 19 patients tested positive for both high-risk and low-risk subtypes, 32 patients tested positive only for high-risk subtypes, and 13 patients tested positive only for low-risk subtypes.

Conclusion: HPV subtyping identifies a significant group of HIV-positive women who are at risk for developing cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, although they may not show significant abnormalities on their Pap smears.

Background:

Cervical cytology by Papanicolaou (Pap) smears is an effective means of screening for cervical premalignant and malignant conditions. Cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia (CIN) and cervical cancer remain important health problems for women worldwide.

Aim:

To study the role of Pap smear in detecting premalignant and malignant lesions of cervix; and to determine the prevalence of various lesions.

Materials and Methods:

This study is based on 300 patients who attended the out-patient Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Pap smears were prepared from patients presenting with complaints like vaginal discharge, post-coital bleeding, inter-menstrual bleeding, dyspareunia, and pain lower abdomen. After fixation and staining, each smear was carefully examined.

Results:

Epithelial cell abnormalities were found in 5% smears, atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS) in 0.3%, squamous intraepithelial lesion (SIL) in 3.4% which includes low grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL) (2.7%) and high grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL) 0.7%. Invasive carcinoma was seen in 1.3% cases. Mean age of the patients with diagnosis of LSIL was 32.3 years and for HSIL, it was 40.5 years. The mean age of the patients with invasive carcinoma was 57 years.

Conclusion:

Premalignant and malignant lesions of cervix are not uncommon in our set up and can be diagnosed early by Pap smears.

Cervical cancer remains one of the greatest killers of women worldwide. It is difficult to foresee a dramatic increase in cure rate even with the most optimal combination of cytotoxic drugs, surgery, and radiation; therefore, testing of molecular targeted therapies against this malignancy is highly desirable. A number of epigenetic alterations occur during all stages of cervical carcinogenesis in both human papillomavirus and host cellular genomes, which include global DNA hypomethylation, hypermetylation of key tumor suppressor genes, and histone modifications. The reversible nature of epigenetic changes constitutes a target for transcriptional therapies, namely DNA methylation and histone deacetylase inhibitors. To date, studies in patients with cervical cancer have demonstrated the feasibility of reactivating the expression of hypermethylated and silenced tumor suppressor genes as well as the hyperacetylating and inhibitory effect upon histone deacetylase activity in tumor tissues after treatment with demethylating and histone deacetylase inhibitors. In addition, detection of epigenetic changes in cytological smears, serum DNA, and peripheral blood are of potential interest for development of novel biomolecular markers for early detection, prediction of response, and prognosis.