Human papillomavirus infection: Is it associated with epithelial ovarian cancer?

Human papillomavirus (HPV), the causative agent of cervical cancer, is associated with several other epithelial malignancies. Previous reports on HPV infection and its association with ovarian cancer are highly contradicting. Reports on HPV association with ovarian cancer in Indian women are also rare. Hence, the purpose of this study was to screen women with serous epithelial ovarian cancer for possible HPV infection.

Tumor samples, collected at the time of surgery from 88 women with serous epithelial ovarian cancer were screened using a specific and sensitive PCR. The PCR results were confirmed with Southern blotting using HPV genome-specific probes, both of high-risk HPV type 16 and 18 and low-risk HPV type 6 and 11. All the samples were again tested for another 14 high-risk HPV genotypes with a commercially available qRT-PCR.

All the samples screened and confirmed by various tests did not show presence of either low-risk or high-risk HPV DNA, indicating the absence of HPV infections in these ovarian cancer tissues.

The present study shows that HPV infection may not be associated with epithelial ovarian cancer. The result of the current investigation strongly supports the results of earlier research that, HPV is not associated with ovarian cancer.