High-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infection may play an important role in non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) development. However, some recent studies have proved that it was not directly associated with lung cancer. The aim of this study was to evaluate the underlying molecular mechanism that HPV16 regulate the expression of GLUT1 and may promote the development of lung cancer. HPV16, HIF-1α, and GLUT1 were detected in pleural effusions of patients with lung cancer (n = 95) and with benign lung disease (n = 55) by immunocytochemistry. Western blotting and qRT-PCR were used to detect the expression chances of HPV16 E6/E7, HIF-1α, and GLUT1 in lung cancer cells. HPV16, HIF-1α, and GLUT1 were significantly more likely to be expressed in the malignant group than in the benign group as detected by immunocytochemistry (ICC), and HIF-1α was significantly correlated with HPV16 or GLUT1 in the malignant group (P < 0.01). Expression changes of E6 and E7 significantly promoted the protein expression of HIF-1α, the expression of both protein and mRNA of GLUT1, but had no effect on the expression of HIF-1α mRNA in lung cancer cells. After inhibition of HIF-1α, it obviously downregulated the expression of both protein and mRNA of GLUT1 in lung cancer cells. E6 and E7 regulated the expression of GLUT1 may be due to the mediation of HIF-1α in lung cancer cells. These results suggest that both E6 and E7 play the important role in the regulation of Warburg effect and may be a valuable therapeutic target for HPV-related cancer.

LCT is a useful and easily performed technique that can be widely applied, and is suitable for mass screening for the early diagnosis of lung cancer.

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Liquid-based cytology and RT-PCR can be performed to detect LUNX mRNA expression in bronchial brushing specimens, and this technique may be a useful adjunct to cytological diagnosis of lung cancer. The sensitivity of the technique was greater than that of cytology but its lower specificity should be taken into account.

Detection of VEGF mRNA and SP1 mRNA in bronchial brushing cells may be used as an ancillary tool to cytological diagnosis for detection of early-stage lung cancer. It may also help distinguish tuberculosis from other causes of lung inflammation.