Prospective study of antibody to human papilloma virus type 16 and risk ofcervical, endometrial, and ovarian cancers (United States)

Objective: Human papilloma virus (HPV) is frequently detectable in cancers of the cervix, vagina, and vulva, but its role in endometrial and ovarian c ancers is less certain. This analysis aimed to examine the association of p resence of HPV type 16 (HPV-16) antibodies with subsequent risk of cervical , endometrial, and ovarian cancers. Methods: In a prospective study enrolling over 15,000 pregnant women, pre-c ancer sera from women who developed cervical (n = 83), endometrial (n = 34) , and ovarian (n = 35) cancers were compared with sera from 172 control wom en frequency-matched by age group and race. Results: HPV-16 seropositivity (OR = 2.0, 95% CI 1.0-3.4) was associated wi th cervical cancer, with the association more prominent for cancers occurri ng within 10 years of serum sampling (OR = 2.3, 95% CI 1.0-5.3) than cancer s occurring later (OR = 1.6, 95% CI 0.75-3.6). Overall, the associations be tween HPV-16 seropositivity and endometrial (OR = 1.6, 95% CI 0.64-3.8) and ovarian cancers (OR = 1.1, 95% CI 0.43-2.8) were not significant, although the odds ratios for those cancers occurring within 20 years after serum sa mpling were similar to that for cervical cancer (OR = 2.2 for both). Conclusions: Our results confirm that HPV-16 infection precedes the develop ment of cervical cancer. Predictability of HPV-16 seropositivity for risk o f other female cancers warrants further investigation.