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High HPV 16 Viral Load is Associated with Increased Cervical Dysplasia in Honduran Women

Cervical cancer is believed to have a co-factorial etiology in which high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infections are considered an essential factor and other elements play an ancillary role. Besides the importance of specific HPV genotypes, other viral cofactors as viral load may influence the progression likelihood. In this study the relationship between HPV 16 viral load with respect to the grade of cervical disease in Honduran women was investigated. A real-time PCR allowing quantification of both HPV 16 genome and β-globin gene to normalize the measuring HPV 16 load in cervical cells was used. The data in 87 women with cervical dysplasia or cervical cancer and in 23 women with a negative Pap smear were evaluated. The highest average of HPV 16 viral load was detected in women with High Squamous Intraepithelial Lesions (HSIL). An increasing amount of HPV in higher cervical lesions was found, which could indicate a dose-response association between viral load and precancerous lesion grade.

Received June 13, 2007. Accepted for publication January 21, 2008.

Acknowledgments: The authors are grateful to Jose E. Tabora for statistical analysis and to the Sustainable Sciences Institute (San Francisco, CA) for manuscript review.

Financial support: This study was supported by The Netherlands Foundation for the Advancement of Tropical Research (WOTRO number WB 92-215)

^* Address correspondence to Willem Melchers, Department of Medical Microbiology, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, The Netherlands. E-mail: W.Melchers{at}mmb.umcn.nl

Authors’ addresses: Nelba Tábora, Department of Microbiology, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras, P.O. Box 30078, Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Tel: 504-236-6730, Fax: 504-220-1416, E-mail: nelba_tabora{at}hotmail.com. Annabelle Ferrera, Department of Microbiology, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras, P.O. Box 30078, Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Tel: 504-236-6730, Fax: 504-220-1416, E-mails: annabelle{at}amnettgu.com and f_annabelle{at}hotmail.com. Judith Bakkers, Department of Medical Microbiology, Radboud University, Nijmegen Medical Centre, P.O. Box 901, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands, Tel: 31-0-24-361-4356, Fax: 31-0-24-354-0216, E-mail: j.bakkers{at}mmb.umcn.nl. Leon F. A .G. Massuger, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, P.O. Box 901, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands, Tel: 31-0-24-361-7637, Fax: 31-0-24-366-8597, E-mail: L.Massuger{at}obgyn.umcn.nl. Willem J. G. Melchers, Department of Medical Microbiology, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, P.O. Box 901, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands, Tel: 31-0-24-361-4356, Fax: 31-0-24-354-0216, E-mail: w.melchers{at}mmb.umcn.nl.