Circulating cell-free HPV DNA is a strong marker for disease severity in cervical cancer

For cervical cancer (CC), circulating cell-free HPV DNA (ccfHPV) may establish disease severity. Furthermore, HPV integration has been correlated to viral load and survival. In this study, pre-treatment plasma from 139 CC cases (50 primary surgery patients, 22 primary surgery + adjuvant oncological therapy patients, and 67 primary oncological therapy patients) was collected (2018-2020). Furthermore, plasma from 25 cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 3 patients and 15 healthy women (negative controls) were collected. Two next-generation sequencing (NGS) panels were used to establish ccfHPV presence and human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) integration status. ccfHPV was detected in four primary surgery (8.0%), eight primary surgery + adjuvant oncology (36.4%), and 54 primary oncology (80.6%) patients. For primary oncology patients with HPV16-related cancer (n = 37), more ccfHPV(neg) than ccfHPV(pos) patients had HPV16 integration (P = 0.04), and in patients with HPV16 integration (n = 13), ccfHPV(pos) patients had higher disease stages than ccfHPV(neg) patients (P = 0.05). In summary, ccfHPV presence is related to disease severity and may add to the debated Sedlis criteria used for identifying patients for adjuvant oncological therapy. However, ccfHPV detection is influenced by HPV integration status and disease stage, and these factors need to be considered in ccfHPV(neg) patients.

Automated summary

This study demonstrates the association between circulating cell-free HPV DNA (ccfHPV) and disease severity in cervical cancer. HPV integration status is also correlated with viral load and survival. The findings suggest that ccfHPV presence may contribute to the identification of patients suitable for adjuvant oncological therapy.