THE ASSOCIATION OF HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUS TYPE-16 E6 AND E7 ANTIBODIES WITH STAGE OF CERVICAL-CANCER

Objective: Previous investigators have reported higher HPV type 16 ant ibody positivity among cervical cancer patients than among healthy wom en. The objective of this study was to determine the association of HP V 16 antibody levels with the stage of cervical cancer, Methods: Pretr eatment tumor biopsies and sera were obtained from 137 newly diagnosed cervical cancer patients residing in Mexico. Using peptide ELISA and radioimmunoprecipitation assay (RIPA), HPV 16 E6- and E7-specific anti bodies were measured. Results: By ELISA, elevated antibody titers to H PV 16 E6 and E7 were detected in 16.8 and 32.8% of the women, respecti vely. While sera positivity did not differ by disease stage, the mean absorbance in the E7-positive sera was 0.42, 0.62, 0.91, and 0.81 for stages I to IV, respectively, Using RIPA, anti-E6 and E7 positivity wa s demonstrated in 46.7 and 38.7% of the females, respectively. Althoug h no difference across disease stage was detected for E6, increasing p roportions of positivity to E7 with stage of disease was detected. The rates for increasing disease stage were 0.14, 0.37, 0.40, and 0.67. S era from the 6-month postradiation follow-up examinations of a small g roup of patients demonstrated a statistically significant decrease in antibody positivity from pretreatment positivity to HPV 16 E6 (n = 14; P = 0.01) and HPV 16 E7 (n = 20; P = 0.0001) using ELISA, Conclusions : These data suggest that HPV 16 E7 antibody positivity may be associa ted with stage of cervical cancer. Such immune parameters may be appli cable to disease staging, monitoring of recurrence and, perhaps, diagn osis, Further investigation into the relationship of HPV 16 E6 and E7 antibodies with stage of cervical cancer and response to therapy is wa rranted. (C) 1996 Academic Press, Inc.