Association between Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) genotype and protein of retinoblastoma expression in cervical cancer

Abstract

Link of Video Abstract: https://youtu.be/5Q9QmV4Qmyg Background: Regarding prevalence among females worldwide, cervical cancer ranks fourth and has a high fatality rate. Cervical cancer growth is correlated with high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. Retinoblastoma protein (pRb) is a protein that interacts with E6/E7 oncoproteins to regulate cell proliferation, differentiation, and death. Mutations on the E6/E7 protein oncogenes of high-risk HPV can disrupt this relationship. This investigation aims to establish the association between pRb expression and the HPV genotype. Methods: This observational cross-sectional study examined 43 patients diagnosed with cervical cancer at Wahidin Sudirohusodo Hospital and its network. Samples were taken using consecutive random sampling based on established criteria. HPV genotype was examined using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method, while pRB expression was assessed by immunohistochemical examination. The relationship between the two variables was assessed using the Chi-Square test. Results: There were 5 (11.6%) patients with HPV type 16, 14 (32.6%) with HPV type 18, 12 (27.9%) with other types of HPV and 12 (27.9%) were negative for HPV. Examination of pRb expression showed that 33 (76.7%) samples had +2 expression, 7 (16.3%) had +1 expression, and 3 (7.0%) samples had no pRb expression. The pRb expression and HPV type were not significantly correlated in this study (p = 0.410). However, pRb expression and cervical cancer clinical stage were shown to be significantly correlated (p = 0.007). Conclusion: pRb expression is more prevalent when a malignancy is more advanced. In this investigation, no association between HPV genotype and pRb expression was discovered, despite oncogene mutations being involved in the regulation mechanism of cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis.