RESUMEN
Objective To study the mutation of papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) E6 gene, and to compare with the result of other researchers. Methods DNA was extracted from cervical cancer tissue sam-pies, then HPV16 E6 genes were amplified and sequenced using the HPV16 E6 specific primers from cervi-cal cancer DNA samples. Results HPV16 E6 gene mutations at the position of nt178 were found in 18 case from 35 cervical cancer samples, the mutation rate was 51.43%, resulting in nucleotide change of Asp to Glu. E6 mutations are found at the position of nt442 in 4 cervical samples. E6 mutation was found in 1 to 2 case in other nucleotide. Conclusion High frequency mutations of E6 gene of HPV16 at the position of nt178, nt442 have been found in cervical cancer samples in Hubei, China. The role of E6 gene mutation in cervical cancer development should be studied further.