Impact of HPV typing and p53 expression on radiosensitivity in patients with cervical cancer

Abstract

Objective To investigate the association of human papilloma virus (HPV) typing and p53 expression with radiosensitivity in patients with cervical cancer. Methods A total of 80 patients with cervical cancer from 2014 to 2016 were enrolled, and among these patients, 40 had stage ⅠB+ ⅡA disease and 40 had stage ⅡB+ ⅢA disease. HPV genotype was identified and p53 expression was measured. All the patients underwent external and internal pelvic irradiation alone, and the correlation between short-term therapeutic effect and HPV typing/p53 expression was analyzed. The chi-square test or the Fisher′s exact test was used for statistical analysis, and Spearman rank correlation analysis was also performed. Results The radiotherapy-insensitive (stable disease+ progressive disease) group had higher p53 positive rates than the radiotherapy-sensitive (complete response+ partial response) group (stage ⅠB+ Ⅱ: 100% vs. 80.0%, P=0.044; stage ⅡB+ ⅢA: 100% vs. 90.0%, P=0.013). The expression of p53 was negatively correlated with radiosensitivity (r=-0.427, P=0.000). In the radiotherapy-insensitive group of patients with stage ⅠB+ Ⅱ and ⅡB+ ⅢA, the rate of HPV multiple infections was higher than that of single subtype infection (65.0%/95.0% vs. 35.0%/5.0%, P=0.004 and 0.003), while in the radiotherapy-sensitive group, the rate of single subtype infection was higher than that of multiple infections (85.0%/60.0% vs. 15.0%/40.0%, P=0.004 and 0.003). The highest detection rate of HPV16 was 66.3% in all patients, and the highest detection rate of HPV18 was 60.0% in the radiotherapy-insensitive group. Conclusions High expression of p53 is associated with radioresistance in patients with cervical cancer. Patients with HPV multiple infections have poor radiosensitivity, and HPV16 is the most common subtype in dual infection. Among patients who do not achieve remission after radiotherapy, HPV multiple infections with HPV18 as the main pathogen has the highest detection rate. Key words: Human papilloma virus; p53 gene; Cervical neopalsms/radiotherapy