Elevation of HPV-18 and HPV-16 DNA in the Plasma of Patients with Advanced Cervical Cancer

Objective: Cervical cancer (CC) is one of the main problems in women's health in which the pathologic role of the human papilloma virus, HPV, is undeniable. Molecular methods have shown viral DNA in affected tissues, related to the disease progression. Patients and Methods: We here studied 100 patients with abnormal Pap test results. HPV DNA loads in the plasma samples were measured by quantitative real time PCR, using specific primers and probes for the E6 genes of HPV types 16, 18, 33 and 52. Another 50 women with no obvious malignancy were enrolled as controls. Results: Pathological studies revealed 81 patients with CC and 19 with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia. Only 19 of the cancer patients (15 with squamous cell carcinomas and 4 with adenocarcinomas) had detectable genetic material of HPV-16 (N=4) and HPV-18 (N=15) in their plasma; genetic material of other types was absent. HPV DNA copies increased with advanced disease in both types. Significantly smaller amounts of HPV DNA of types 16 and/or 18 were detected in the plasma of 16% of the controls while other types were negative. Conclusion: The evidence of HPV DNA of high risk types in the plasma of women with CCs strongly emphasizes the necessity of more longitudinal comprehensive studies to determine its role as a possible biomarker in cervical cancer.