Abstract
Background and objective: Lipocalin 2 (LCN2) has an oncogenic role in promoting tumorigenesis through enhancing tumor cell proliferation and the metastatic potential. The aim of our study was to determine whether serum LCN2 could serve as a diagnostic marker of cervical cancer (CC) and to evaluate the correlation between its serum concentration, the clinical stage of the cancer and Human Papilloma Virus HPV infections in women. Materials and methods: A total of 33 women with histologically proven cervical cancer (CC), 9 women with high- grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (HSIL) and 48 healthy women (NILM) were involved in the study. A concentration of LCN2 was assayed with the Magnetic LuminexR Assay multiplex kit. An HPV genotyping kit was used for the detection and differentiation of 15 high-risk (HR) HPV types in the liquid-based cytology medium (LBCM) and the tissue biopsy. Results: The majority (84.8%) of the women were infected by HPV16 in the CC group, and there was no woman with HPV16 in the control group (P < 0.01). Several types of HR HPV were found more often in the LBCM compared to in the tissue biopsy (P = 0.044). HPV16 was more frequently detected in the tissue biopsy than the LBCM (P < 0.05). The LCN2 level was higher in HPV-positive than in HPV-negative women (P = 0.029). The LCN2 concentration was significantly higher in women with stage IV than those with stage I CC (P = 0.021). Conclusions: Many HR HPV types, together with HPV16/18, can colonize the vagina and cervix, but often HPV16 alone penetrates into the tissue and causes CC. The serum LCN2 concentration was found to be associated not only with HR HPV infection, irrespective of the degree of cervical intraepithelial changes, but also with advanced clinical CC stage. LCN2 could be used to identify patients with advanced disease, who require a more aggressive treatment.
Highlights
The majority of cervical cancer (CC) cases occur as a result of the effect of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection
high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) groups were HPV positive, and this percentage significantly differed from the percentage of HPV-positive women in the NILM group (100% and 100% vs. 20.8%, P < 0.001) (Table 2)
We classified HPV16 and HPV18 together (HPV16/18), because they are the types that most often cause cervical lesions; other high-risk HPV types, which were most commonly found in our study population; and HPV16/18 together with other types
Summary
The majority of cervical cancer (CC) cases occur as a result of the effect of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. Only a small proportion of women with HPV infection and intraepithelial lesions progress to CC development. It is believed that there are different risk factors contributing to the development and progression of this cancer. Genetic differences associated with an individual’s immune system may be important in responding to HPV and may increase or decrease the risk of CC development [3]. The aim of our study was to determine whether serum LCN2 could serve as a diagnostic marker of cervical cancer (CC) and to evaluate the correlation between its serum concentration, the clinical stage of the cancer and Human Papilloma Virus HPV infections in women. Results: The majority (84.8%) of the women were infected by HPV16 in the CC group, and there was no woman with HPV16 in the control group (P < 0.01)
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