Screening Technique Detects Cancer-Causing HPV

A study conducted at five centers has demonstrated that a screening technique based on biomolecular markers can detect the activity of human papillomavirus (HPV) transforming genes, which can indicate pre-cancerous conditions of the lower genital tract, thereby identifying patients who need to be monitored for cervical cancer.

HPV is recognized as a causative agent for cervical cancer. Although many people are infected, few of them develop neoplasia. In those who do, the abnormal cells overproduce specific proteins encoded for by the E6 and E7 genes of the virus. The new screening technique, called the InPath In-Cell HPV test, can detect the overproduction of the proteins through messenger RNA, which signals that HPV has disregulated the host cell's central functions.

In the study, involving 82 tissue samples, the InPath test accurately detected the presence of the proteins in 100% of patients with high-grade lesions and 64% of patients with low-grade lesions. The test is the product of Ampersand Medical Corp. (Chicago, IL, USA). Ampersand says the test is both faster and more sensitive than HPV DNA testing.

"This technology is proving to be far more accurate than existing HPV-screening technologies and much faster and less costly than polymerase chain reaction, today's gold standard diagnostic tool for detecting HPV,” said Dr. Bruce Patterson, lead investigator and senior research scientist at Northwestern University. Dr. Patterson presented the study at the 14th International Congress of Cytology in Amsterdam.




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