Type-Specific Viral Load and Physical State of HPV Type 16, 18,and 58 as Diagnostic Biomarkers for High-Grade SquamousIntraepithelial Lesions or Cervical Cancer / Journal of the Korean Cancer Association, 대한암학회지

ABSTRACT

Purpose@#High rate of false-positive tests is a major obstacle to use human papillomavirus (HPV) detectionas a diagnostic tool for high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions or cervical cancer(HSIL+). We investigated whether type-specific viral load or physical state of HPV 16, 18,and 58 are useful biomarkers for HSIL+. @*Materials and Methods@#Type-specific viral loads of E6 and E2 genes in cervical cells from 240, 83, and 79 HPV 16–,18–, and 58–infected women, respectively, were determined using real-time polymerasechain reaction. Viral loads were normalized to cellular DNA (copy/cell). Total and integratedviral loads and physical state were compared between HSIL+ and controls, and diagnosticvalue was determined using receiver operating characteristic analysis. @*Results@#Viral loads of HPV 16, 18, and 58 were significantly different in lesions in the same pathologicgrade. High type-specific total viral loads were significantly associated with HSIL+ (oddsratio [OR], 14.065, 39.472, and 7.103 for HPV 16, 18, and 58, respectively). High integratedviral load was related to HSIL+ in women with HPV 16 (OR, 8.242), and integrated statewas associated with HSIL+ in women with HPV 18 (OR, 9.443). Type-specific total viral loadwas significantly associated with HSIL+ (area under curve, 0.914, 0.937, and 0.971 forHPV 16, 18, and 58, respectively), indicating an excellent performance in detecting HSIL+. @*Conclusion@#Type-specific total viral load may be a powerful diagnostic marker for HSIL+ in HPV 16–,18–, and 58–infected HSIL+ lesions. If demonstrated in all other high-risk HPV types, thismethod can lead to a paradigm shift in the strategy of equivocal cytologic abnormalities.