title: E6/E7 mRNA testing for human papilloma virus-induced high-grade cervical intraepithelial disease (CIN2/CIN3): a promising perspective.
abstract: Since the introduction of biomolecular testing for the identification of high-risk human papillomavirus DNA (hrHPV-DNA) in cervical cancer preventive strategies, many interesting aspects have emerged in this field; firstly, HPV-DNA testing has been demonstrated to have better sensitivity than conventional cytology in several settings: screening, triage of ASC-US and in follow-up after treatment. Despite this, some limitations of these new technologies have also been underlined: the major issue is the low specificity of the tests, which cannot discriminate between regressive and progressive infections. Thus, recent research has moved the attention towards novel markers of progression that could more precisely detect cases at real risk of cancer development. In view of the fact that progression to cancer is dependable of the E6/E7 proteins integration and transforming action, the overexpression of E6/E7 transcripts has been seen as a valuable marker of this risk. This review aims to summarise the literature data on this topic and to provide a clear view of the emerging perspectives.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynaecology & Obstetrics, Vita Salute San Raffaele University, School of Medicine, Milano 20132, Italy.
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Origoni
authors.affiliation: Polo Oncologico Villa Montallegro, Genova 16145, Italy.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cristoforoni
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynaecology & Obstetrics, Vita Salute San Raffaele University, School of Medicine, Milano 20132, Italy.
authors.forename: Guia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Carminati
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynaecology & Obstetrics, Vita Salute San Raffaele University, School of Medicine, Milano 20132, Italy.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Stefani
authors.affiliation: M.F. Toniolo Hospital, Bologna 40141, Italy.
authors.forename: Silvano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.affiliation: Division of Laboratory Medicine, European Institute of Oncology, Milano 20141, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Teresa
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Sandri
authors.affiliation: HPV-UNIT, Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Roma 00144, Italy.
authors.forename: Luciano
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mariani
authors.affiliation: Unit of Preventive Gynaecology, European Institute of Oncology, Milano 20141, Italy.
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Preti
keywords: E6; E7; HPV; HPV-DNA; cervical cancer; human papillomavirus; mRNA