Evidence of High-Risk Human Papillomavirus in Prostate cancer: A UK based study

Abstract

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is one of the sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) which have been implicated in the etiology of multiple cancers. To date, several studies have been conducted to evaluate the incidence of High-Risk (HR) HPV in prostate cancer (PCa) which have generated widely conflicting data. Hence, this leaves a lack of awareness on the causal role of persistent HPV infection in the development of PCa. Although this has been investigated in a handful of countries, to the best of our knowledge, no prior studies have been conducted in the UK. In this study, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Sanger sequencing were implemented to analyze a total of 49 fresh prostate specimens (35 benign and 14 malignant specimens) for the presence of viral DNA of 12 HR-HPV types. Data obtained confirmed the presence of HR-HPV in 32.7% of analyzed benign and malignant prostate tissues with HPV 35 being identified as the most frequent type. Moreover, using Immunohistochemistry (IHC), we have confirmed the expression of HPV protein in prostate tissues positive for HPV DNA. This observation, the first in the UK, suggests that HPV may have a possible etiological role in prostate cancer development.

Distribution of human papillomavirus among Vietnamese women with cervical cancer and genetic variability of HPV16

“…10 Malignancy necessitates long-term viral persistence, which necessitates evasion of the body's immunological responses and clearance. 11 HPV has several mechanisms for interfering with an effective immune response, which may contribute to the slowing or failure of HPV infection clearance. The two main oncoproteins, E6 and E7, interact with the human immune system to induce cell immortality, transformation, and carcinogenesis.…”

“…The two main oncoproteins, E6 and E7, interact with the human immune system to induce cell immortality, transformation, and carcinogenesis. 1,11 On the other hand, the L1 gene is crucial for the early contact of the capsid with the host cell. The L1 gene polymorphism influences the production of neutralizing antibodies with varying binding affinity, which aids in the development of diagnostics, vaccinations, and therapies.…”