Papillomavirus & Cancer

WHAT IS HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUS?

Human Papillomavirus, also known as HPV, is responsible for the most widespread sexually transmitted infection affecting millions of people worldwide. It is estimated that about 80% of sexually active people contract the virus at least once in their life.

More than 120 variants of HPV are known, 40 of which infect the epithelial tissues of the anogenital tract, mouth and throat, of which 14 variants are considered high risk (HPV16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 56, 58, 59, 66 and68). In most women (approximately 90%), HPV infections are asymptomatic and heal spontaneously within 2 years without the need for medical intervention. However, a small fraction of the infections caused by the 14 high-risk HPV variants can persist and progress to cervical cancer.

The 14 high-risk variants of HPV are responsible for almost all cases of cervical cancer and, therefore, the early diagnosis of HPV infections and the monitoring of persistent infections is essential to prevent the onset of cancer.

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WHAT CONSEQUENCES DOES THIS INFECTION HAVE?

Generally, HPV infection does not cause any alteration and resolves spontaneously, disappearing within 2 years. In a minority of cases, however, the virus causes lesions in the cervix of the uterus. However, a small fraction of HPV infections, if left untreated, can slowly progress to cancer.

Cervical cancer is the second most common form of cancer in women, after breast cancer. Unlike other cancers, cervical cancer has a well-defined cause: persistent infection caused by one or more of the 14high-risk variants of HPV.

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IMPORTANCE OF EARLY DIAGNOSIS

Only very few women with HPV infection develop a pre-cancerous lesion of the cervix of the uterus and it takes years for the lesions to turn into real tumors. It thus becomes very important to identify the alterations caused by the virus early: if the infection is detected early, it is possible to monitor the onset of the lesions in order to be treated and healed.

THE IMPORTANCE OF GENOTYPING

The onset of pre-cancerous lesions and the evolution of the pathology into cancer are not related to mere HPV infection which, as mentioned, in most cases resolves without consequences, but rather to the persistent infection with one of the 14 variants of High-risk HPV.

The identification of the HPV variant responsible for the infection allows persistent infections to be monitored over time in order to effectively manage triage based on the real risk profile. Furthermore, beyond simple infection, co-infection with multiple high-risk HPV variants has been identified as a risk factor for the development of pre-cancerous lesions. Finally, the diffusion of vaccines, which protect against a maximum of 7 of the 14 high-risk variants of HPV, is changing the spread of the high-risk variants and a monitoring of infections that allows the identification of the responsible variant acquires increasing importance for an effective monitoring for vaccinated women. HPV PRO is designed to detect high-risk HPV infections while determining which of the 14 high-risk variants is responsible, providing a comprehensive diagnostic result for the physician, for the benefit of the patient.

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