CORRELATION OF HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUS-16 AND PAPILLOMAVIRUS-18 WITH PROGNOSTIC FACTORS IN INVASIVE CERVICAL NEOPLASIAS

Forty-seven patients with cervical carcinoma were examined in order to correlate human papillomavirus (HPV) types with prognostic factors in invasive cervical neoplasias. Age, clinical stage, histological type, and grade and parity were analysed with respect to HPV status as dete rmined by a general primer mediated polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or a type specific PCR. All but one sample (98%) harboured HPV sequences : HPV 16 was found in 26 cases (55%), HPV 18 in 19 cases (40%), and HP V 31 in 1 case. The presence of HPV 18 DNA was significantly associate d with cancers developed below 40 years of age (P = 0.029). HPV 18 det ection was associated with poor differentiation malignancy (P = 0.045) and histological types of poor prognosis (adenocarcinoma or nondiffer entiated carcinoma; P = 0.006). HPV 18 positivity was also correlated with advanced clinical stages (FIGO II and III; P = 0.032). Parity and HPV status proved to be independent of each other (P similar to 0.99) . Eighty-seven percent (27/31) of pelvic lymph nodes from HPV positive patients contained HPV DNA. The virus types found in lymph nodes were identical with those of the primary tumours in all cases. Virological results were compared to those obtained by routine histological exami nation. Only 6 of 27 patients with HPV positive lymph nodes had any hi stological evidence of metastasis. Nevertheless, the lack of metastasi s as detected by histology does not exclude the possibility of relapse s. Follow-up of the clinical course of the disease is required to asse ss the prognostic significance of PCR detection of HPV in the possible sites of early metastases. (C) 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.