Association between Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) genotype and mutant protein 53 (p53) expression in cervical cancer

Abstract

Link of Video Abstract:https://youtu.be/fff-Unnud2w Background: Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) infection is the main cause of cervical cancer, a primary malignant tumor developing from squamous epithelial cells. HPV expresses oncoproteins E6 and E7, known to inactivate tumor suppressor proteins, one of which is protein 53 (p53). A promising biomarker for diagnosing and prognosis malignancies brought on by the HPV genotype is the identification of p53. This study investigates the association between p53 expression and HPV genotype in cervical cancer patients. Method: This observational cross-sectional study involved patients diagnosed with cervical cancer on histopathological examination who met the requirements. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method was used to determine the HPV genotype, and an immunohistochemistry analysis was used to assess the level of p53 expression. A Chi-Square test is utilized to evaluate the association between the two variables. Results: Of the 49 patients, there were 7 (14.3%) patients with HPV type 16, 13 (26.5%) with HPV type 18, 14 (26.5%) other types of HPV and 15 (30.6%) negatives for HPV. Examination of p53 expression showed that 17 (34.6%) samples had <10% expression, 17 (34.6%) had 10-50% expression, and 15 (30.8%) samples had >50% expression. There was no correlation between p53 expression and HPV genotype (p = 0.071). However, an association between p53 expression and cervical cancer's clinical stage was identified (p = 0.028). Conclusion: Increased cervical cancer stage can be associated with increased p53 expression. Thus, p53 can be used as a predictor of cervical cancer stage. However, in cervical cancer, p53 expression cannot be associated with the HPV genotype.