High sensitivity of PCR in situ hybridization for the detection of human papillomavirus infection in uterine cervical neoplasias.
OBJECTIVE
This study was designed in order to examine whether the sensitivity of PCR in situ hybridization (PISH) is superior to that of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and immunocytochemical staining (ICS) in detecting the presence of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in uterine cervical neoplasias.


METHODS
Three cell specimens were obtained from every 54 patients who had been histologically and cytologically diagnosed as severe dysplasia of the uterine cervix (SD), carcinoma in situ of the uterine cervix (CIS), or microinvasive carcinoma of the uterine cervix (MIC). All of them were first stained by the Papanicolaou (pap) method before the experiments. After specimens were classified into SD (n = 17) and CIS/MIC groups (n = 37), the sensitivities of detection for HPV infection were compared among PISH, FISH, and ICS methods which had been carried out after decolorization of the pap stain.


RESULTS
In the SD group, PISH demonstrated a 58.8% positive incidence of HPV, which was significantly higher than that (23.5%) shown by FISH (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the positivities of HPV between the PISH and ICS (47.1%) methods. In the CIS/MIC group, PISH, FISH, and ICS showed 73.0, 43.2, and 54.1% positive incidences of HPV, respectively. There was significant difference in HPV positivities between PISH and FISH as well as ICS (P < 0.01, P < 0.05). The total frequency of the detection of HPV infection by PISH was significantly higher than that by FISH (P < 0.01) and high with a marginal significance compared to that by ICS (P = 0.051). Moreover, the morphologic change of a single cell and the HPV-positive signals could be observed simultaneously by the PISH technique.


CONCLUSIONS
Because PISH possesses high sensitivity for the detection of HPV infection in morphologically intact cells from uterine cervical neoplasia, the PISH technique might have promising potential for application to the detection of HPV presence in situ in screening.
Xiao
Y
Y
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hirosaki University School of Medicine, 5 Zaifu-cho, Hirosaki, Aomori, 036-8562, Japan.
Sato
S
S
Oguchi
T
T
Kudo
K
K
Yokoyama
Y
Y
Saito
Y
Y
D002277:Carcinoma / Q000821:virology; D002278:Carcinoma in Situ / Q000821:virology; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D027383:Papillomaviridae / Q000235:genetics*; D030361:Papillomavirus Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000821:virology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014412:Tumor Virus Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000821:virology; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000821:virology*
D004279:DNA, Viral