Detection of Human Papillomavirus Prevalence in Ovarian Cancer by Different Test Systems

Abstract

Background/Aims: High-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is associated with different malignancies, but its role in the pathogenesis of ovarian cancer remains inconclusive. Published studies demonstrated a wide variation (0–50%) in HPV prevalence in ovarian cancer. To evaluate the contribution of detection tests to controversial results in different populations, we determined the presence of HPV DNA in Russian ovarian cancer patients using 10 different PCR-based tests. Methods: Epithelial ovarian adenocarcinomas were tested with 5 general primer sets commonly used for HPV screening of cervical and ovarian cancer and 5 HPV type-specific primers. Results: The use of a single PCR primer set resulted in a wide variation (0–29%) and an underestimation of the incidence of HPV-positive cancers. The combination of MY09/MY11 and GP5+/6+ primers in nested PCR revealed HPV DNA in 53% (18/34) of adenocarcinomas. HPV16 was found in 94% of the HPV-positive cases. In 6/6 positive cases, the active status of HPV16 was demonstrated by RT-PCR detection of E6 and E7 oncogene mRNAs. Conclusion: These findings indicate the need to employ multiple PCR-based tests to detect all HPV-positive patients. The identification of viral DNA and oncogene transcripts in cancerous tissues indicate the possible role of HPV in ovarian carcinogenesis in Russia.