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A retrospective seroepidemiologic study was performed to examine the association between human papillomaviruses (HPV) 16 infection and carcinomas of the oropharynx, the oesophagus, penis and vagina. Sera were selected from the serum bank from the Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital (Netherlands Cancer Institute) and the Slotervaart Hospital in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Presence of HPV 16 specific antibody was assessed using HPV 16 L1 capsids. Sera positive for HPV 16 capsid antibody were further tested for antibody against HPV 16 E7 peptides. Prevalence of antibody against HPV 16 L1 capsids among both the negative control group without cancer and the negative control group with gastric cancer was 18%, while seroprevalence among the control group of patients with HPV-associated cervical squamous cell carcinoma was 47% (Po0.001). Among the patients with penile squamous cell carcinoma seroprevalence was 38% (Po0.001), among patients with oropharyngeal carcinoma 33% (P ¼ 0.04) and among patients with oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma 14% (P ¼ 0.7). The serological evidence for association between HPV 16 infection and both oropharyngeal carcinoma and penile carcinoma was established. The conclusion that no association was found between the presence of antibody against HPV 16 L1 capsids and oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma was in accordance with results of other studies carried out in the Netherlands using HPV DNA technology. In the subjects with HPV 16 L1 capsid antibody, no association was found between the antibody against HPV 16 E7 and clinical outcome.

Our results suggest that concentrations of TGFa and ARG measured in serum are predictive of EGFR-TKI response. The combination of these two biomarkers could be of value in the process of selecting patients for treatment with EGFR-TKIs.

No abstract

8100 Background: To determine whether concentrations of transforming growth factor α (TGFa), amphiregulin (ARG), both ligands of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), insulin-like growth factor 1(IGF1) or IGF-binding protein 3 (IGFBP3) measured in serum of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients are predictive of EGFR-inhibitors (EGFRi) response. Methods: We assessed serum levels of marker candidates using ELISA (TGA and ARG) and chemiluminescent (IGF1 and IGFBP3) assays. Sixty-one advanced NSCLC patients treated with EGFRi (gefitinib or erlotinib, >14 days) were matched for gender, age and histology to a control group of 63 EGFRi-untreated advanced NSCLC patients. We dichotomized marker levels at the 20th, 50th or 80th percentile and evaluated whether the effect of EGFRi treatment on overall survival (OS) differed by marker level based on multivariate proportional hazards regression with an interaction term. We adjusted for gender, smoking, stage, histology and prior chemotherapy. Results: While 6-months OS did not appreciably differ between 50 EGFRi treated and 50 control patients whose TGFa levels were below the 80th percentile (39% vs. 54%, multivariate HR 0.78, 95% CI 0.45–1.34, p=0.359), it was substantially worse for 11 EGFRi treated patients compared with 13 control patients whose TGFa levels were high (9% vs. 42%, multivariate HR 2.38, 95% CI 0.87–6.52, p=0.092). The difference of EGFRi effects by TGFa level was statistically significant (interaction p=0.033). There was no evidence that EGFRi treatment effects differed by levels of ARG, IGF1 and IGFBP3. Patients with high concentrations of IGFBP3 (above the median) had significantly longer OS than patients with low IGFBP3 concentrations, independent of treatment (HR 0.46, 95% CI 0.29–0.73, p=0.001). Conclusions: This is the first study in NSCLC patients of Caucasian origin in which serum concentrations of TGFa are predictive for EGFR-inhibitor response, suggesting this is a potential predictive marker for EGFRi treatment. Furthermore, we coincidentally found that levels of IGFBP3 are predictive for overall survival, indicating this might be a prognostic factor in advanced NSCLC patients. [Table: see text]