Presence and persistence of HPV infection and p53 mutation in cancer of the cervix uteri and the vulva.
We studied 51 cervical carcinomas, among them 25 squamous-cell carcinomas (SCC) and 26 cervical adenocarcinomas (AdCa), and 40 vulvar SCC for the presence of HPV and mutant p53. HPV was detected by PCR, and p53 alterations by temperature-gradient gel electrophoresis/direct sequencing and immunohistochemistry. HPV, mostly type 16/18, was found in 80.4% of the cervical tumors (92.0% of the SCC and 69.2% of the AdCa), but in only 27.5% of vulvar carcinomas. In contrast, p53 mutations were found in 7.8% and 52.5% of cervical and vulvar tumors respectively. Mutant p53 occurred in pre-invasive vulvar lesions, indicating that this oncogenic factor is involved early in carcinogenesis. Further analysis of recurrent/metastatic lesions of 9 cervical and 14 vulvar tumors also showed remarkable differences: in cervical cancer, HPV was persistent, and p53 mutations absent, whereas in vulvar tumors, HPV was mostly absent or not persistent, and the p53 mutation rate was very high (78.6%). These observations suggest that HPV persistence is an important event for the evolution and maintenance of cervical cancer, whereas for vulvar cancers p53 mutation and not HPV activity is a central oncogenic event.
Milde-Langosch
K
K
Department of Gynecological Histopathology and Electron Microscopy, University Hospital of Hamburg, Germany.
Albrecht
K
K
Joram
S
S
Schlechte
H
H
Giessing
M
M
Löning
T
T
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000235:genetics* / Q000821:virology; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001483:Base Sequence; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000235:genetics* / Q000821:virology; D005260:Female; D016158:Genes, p53; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D027383:Papillomaviridae; D030361:Papillomavirus Infections / Q000235:genetics*; D011379:Prognosis; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000032:analysis; D014412:Tumor Virus Infections / Q000235:genetics*; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000821:virology; D014846:Vulvar Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000821:virology
D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53