HPV and urological cancers: Investigating renal and prostate cancer associations

Human papillomavirus (HPV)-attributable cancers are more pronounced in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where limited access to healthcare screening and management programs poses a significant challenge. The etiological association of HPV infections with urological cancers is under-researched in Pakistan. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the link between HPV and renal and prostate cancers.

After obtaining informed consent, 50 biopsy samples from each cancer type, confirmed by H&E and IHC staining, were collected along with histopathological and clinical data. DNA was extracted and processed for HPV detection using GP5+/6+ consensus primers followed by HPV genotyping using E6-E7 specific primers for HPV16 and HPV18 via conventional PCR and Sanger sequencing. For comparative structural analysis of HPV-L1 protein, HPV-positive samples were amplified with MY09/11 primers and sequenced using the Sanger method. Protein sequences were translated using MEGA 11 software, followed by homology modeling via trROSETTA and 3D structure alignment via MOE.

For renal cancer, 30% (15) of the cases tested positive for HPV, of which 93% of the cases exhibited HPV16&18 co-infection. Contrarily, all the prostate cancer samples tested negative for HPV. Additionally, no significant structural variations were seen in HPV-L1 proteins of HPV-positive samples.

This study established a low-frequency association of HPV with renal cancer but no association with prostate cancer. To gain deeper insights, more comprehensive research is needed. Considering the HPV burden in LMICs, it is essential to actively engage in managing HPV to reduce cancer rates and mitigate the associated socioeconomic impacts.