ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To study the relationship between serum human papillomavirus (HPV) deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and clinicopathologic prognostic factors and the clinical usefulness of serum HPV 16 DNA in cervical cancer patients. METHODS: All the patients were treated at our institution, from January, 2002 to February, 2007. DNA extracted from serum of 17 patients with HPV 16 infected carcinoma in situ and 65 patients with HPV 16 infected squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix (stage IA-IIIB) were examined for HPV 16 DNA using polymerase chain reaction with types 16 specific E6 primer. Clinicopathological parameters were obtained from medical records, and the relationship between the discrete variables and serum HPV 16 DNA status were evaluated. RESULTS: HPV 16 DNA was not detected in serum from all patients with carcinoma in situ. However, among the 65 patients with HPV 16 infected squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix, we detected 17 HPV 16 DNA positive samples (26.2%) in serum. Positive HPV 16 DNA in serum was correlated with age (P=0.0071), serum squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) antigen (P=0.0034), tumor size (P=0.0029), clinical stage (P<0.0001), deep stromal invasion (P=0.0048), resection margin positivity (P=0.0008), and pelvic lymph nodal metastasis (P=0.0040). CONCLUSION: The serum HPV 16 DNA in patients with cervical cancer was correlated with poor prognostic factors that need adjuvant treatment.