Detection and genotyping of human papillomaviruses and their role in the development of ovarian carcinomas

Abstract

Purpose: The objective of this study was to investigate the presence of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in ovarian carcinoma samples from Serbian women and correlate them with clinicopathological characteristics of disease and patients' characteristics.

Methods: Fifty-four ovarian carcinoma patients were included in the study. DNA was isolated by salting out method from tumor tissue obtained after surgical treatment. Presence of HPV infection was detected through polymerase chain reaction amplification of a 150-bp fragment of L1 viral gene by GP5+/GP6+ primers. HPV genotyping was performed by DNA sequencing.

Results: HPV DNA was present in 4/54 (7.4 %) ovarian carcinomas. All HPV-positive tumors contained high-risk HPV16 type. HPV infection was more common in advanced opposite to localized disease. The median age of diagnosis of disease varied from 57 years for patients with HPV infection to 59 years for patients without HPV infection.

Conclusions: Our results indicate that HPV infection may play a limited role in ovarian carcinogenesis.