Molecular Markers for the Diagnosis of High-Risk Human Papillomavirus Infection and Triage of Human Papillomavirus-Positive Women

Abstract

Infection with high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) increases the likelihood of developing cervical cancer (CC). A plethora of cellular processes is required to produce pre-malignant lesions, which in turn may become malignant if left untreated. Those changes are induced by viral oncoproteins, which represent an ideal target to identify the viral presence, or by some particularities of the host that ultimately promote the establishment of CC. This article describes the different methods used for HPV detection and quantification, as well as the current trend of secondary screening approaches to detect premalignant lesions and CC. In addition, we analyzed validated biomarkers and those under clinical investigation for the classification (triage) of women at risk of developing CC after an initial positive HPV test and that could be used as prognostic biomarkers for CC. The use of molecular biomarkers, together with the detection of HPV DNA sequences, provides a high impact diagnostic and prognostic tool in the detection of patients at increased risk of developing CC and also may guide their clinical management. In addition, some of those biomarkers could represent pharmacological targets for the future design of therapeutic approaches to CC treatment.

Detection of Sialic Acid to Differentiate Cervical Cancer Cell Lines Using a Sambucus nigra Lectin Biosensor

“…However, CC is in most cases diagnosed at advanced stages, being the second cause of death from cancer in Mexico. So far, cytology and human papillomavirus (HPV) detection are the screening methods in our country for premalignant lesions, and the diagnostic is confirmed with a histopathological study (biopsy), which represents the gold standard [2][3][4][5]. However, cytology lacks the sensitivity (30-80%) to detect premalignant lesions accurately [4,6], because the diagnosis is based on the subjective observation of morphological changes in cervical epithelium cells, which might change depending on the criteria from one observer to another [7,8].…”

“…So far, cytology and human papillomavirus (HPV) detection are the screening methods in our country for premalignant lesions, and the diagnostic is confirmed with a histopathological study (biopsy), which represents the gold standard [2][3][4][5]. However, cytology lacks the sensitivity (30-80%) to detect premalignant lesions accurately [4,6], because the diagnosis is based on the subjective observation of morphological changes in cervical epithelium cells, which might change depending on the criteria from one observer to another [7,8]. On the other hand, molecular detection of HPV has a restriction to be used as an indicator for premalignant lesions, since young women without cytological alterations can be positive for HPV.…”