Lack of Significant Effects of Chlamydia trachomatis Infection on Cervical Cancer Risk in a Nested Case-Control Study in North-East Thailand

Abstract

Cervical cancer continues to be an important public health problem in Thailand. While the high risk human papillomavirus (HPV) types have been established as the principle causative agent of both malignancies and the precursor lesions, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), other factors may also be involved like other sexually transmitted diseases, as well as smoking. Chlamydia trachomatis is an obligate intracellular Gramnegative bacterium which has a tendency to cause chronic infection featuring inflammation and therefore might be expected to increase the risk of cervical cancer. In the present nested case-control study, 61 cases of cervical cancer and 288 matched controls with original serum samples were identified from the Khon Kaen Cohort, established in the North-East of Thailand, by linkage to the Khon Kaen population based cancer registry. C. trachomatis specific IgG antibodies at recruitment were measured by microimmunofluorescence and assessed for association with cervical cancer using STATA release10. No significant link was noted either with all cancers or after removal of adenocarcinomas. The results suggest no association between Chlamydia infection and cervical cancer development in North-East Thailand, but possible influencing factors must be considered in any future research on this topic.

Chlamydia Trachomatis Infection: Their potential implication in the Etiology of Cervical Cancer

“…Whereas some epidemiological studies show a high rate of C. trachomatis infection in women with cervical cancer, others do not [14,15]. For instance, Tungsrithong et al (2014) found no effect, or only a marginal effect, of C. trachomatis infection on the rate of cervical cancer in case control study from Thailand [16]. Hence, the issue of whether the infection of C. trachomatis enhances the chance of growth of cervical cancer has so far not been cleared and is still a subject of research [16].…”

Chlamydia Trachomatis Infection-Associated Risk of Cervical Cancer

“… 4 In contrary, other researches have failed to find any association between infection with C. trachomatis and cervical cancer. 5 – 8 For example, Tungsrithong et al 6 in a nested case–control study in North-East Thailand indicated lack of significant effects of C. trachomatis infection on cervical cancer risk. Therefore, the question of whether C. trachomatis infection increases the risk of cervical cancer has so far not been answered and is still a matter of debate.…”

Update knowledge on cervical cancer incidence and prevalence in Asia

“…About 6000 cervical cancer cases are diagnosed in China and 30000 deaths occur annually. In Asian countries, morbidity and mortality due to cervical cancer has been increased (Zhou et al, 2012;Antic et al, 2014;Filipi et al, 2014;Tungsrithong et al, 2014). More than 80% of the women diagnosed with cervical cancer live in the developing countries, such as China and India.…”