title: Human papillomavirus, viral load and proliferation rate in recurrent respiratory papillomatosis in response to alpha interferon treatment.
abstract: The aim of this study was to identify recurrent respiratory papillomatosis patients who may benefit from interferon (IFN)-alpha treatment and to determine the means of IFN-alpha action. The presence of human papillomavirus (HPV) and viral load and proliferation rate in pre-, ongoing and post-treatment respiratory papillomatosis biopsies were examined retrospectively in 25 patients, 18 of whom were IFN-alpha treated and seven of whom were IFN-alpha non-treated. Using PCR, HPV was found to be present in 20/25 respiratory papillomatosis patients and HPV type was determined for 18/25 patients (12 HPV6 and six HPV11). Eighteen of the patients were treated with IFN-alpha, 14 of whom were HPV positive (eight HPV6, five HPV11 and one undefined HPV). Response to IFN-alpha therapy was observed in 12 patients (7/8 HPV6, 3/5 HPV11, 1/1 undefined HPV and 1/4 HPV negative), while six patients (1/8 HPV6, 2/5 HPV11 and 3/4 HPV negative) did not respond to therapy. Viral load, determined by quantitative real-time PCR (between 0.03 and 533 HPV copies per cell), and proliferation rate, determined as the percentage of Ki-67-positive cells (between 8 and 54 %), were similar in IFN-alpha-treated and non-treated patients and were generally unaffected by IFN-alpha treatment. In summary, most (12/18) IFN-alpha-treated patients responded to therapy. Moreover, there was a tendency for patients with HPV6-positive (7/8) respiratory papillomatosis to respond more frequently to IFN-alpha therapy than patients with HPV11 (3/5) or HPV-negative (1/4) respiratory papillomatosis. Finally, the presence of HPV and viral load and proliferation in respiratory papillomatosis biopsies was similar in patients treated or not with IFN-alpha and were in general unaffected by IFN-alpha treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology-Pathology, CancerCenterKarolinska, R8 : 01, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital, 171 76 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Szeps
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology-Pathology, CancerCenterKarolinska, R8 : 01, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital, 171 76 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Liselotte
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dahlgren
authors.affiliation: Department of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Leena-Maija
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Aaltonen
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology-Pathology, CancerCenterKarolinska, R8 : 01, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital, 171 76 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Öhd
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology-Pathology, CancerCenterKarolinska, R8 : 01, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital, 171 76 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Lena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kanter-Lewenshon
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology-Pathology, CancerCenterKarolinska, R8 : 01, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital, 171 76 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Hanna
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dahlstrand
authors.affiliation: Department of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, CancerCenterKarolinska, R8 : 01, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital, 171 76 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Munck-Wikland
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology-Pathology, CancerCenterKarolinska, R8 : 01, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital, 171 76 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Grandér
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology-Pathology, CancerCenterKarolinska, R8 : 01, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital, 171 76 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Tina
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dalianis
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001706:Biopsy; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000821:virology; D027383:Papillomaviridae / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D030361:Papillomavirus Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000821:virology; D012142:Respiratory Tract Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000821:virology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013548:Sweden; D019562:Viral Load
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D004279:DNA, Viral; D016898:Interferon-alpha