Human papillomavirus DNA and p53 status in stage IB bulky cervical cancer

We used the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to study the presence and typing of human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA, and PCR/single-strand confirmation polymorphism to survey the mutations of the p53 gene in exons 5-9 in 26 bulky stage IB cervical cancers. The HPV DNA was present in 20 out of the 21 (95%) squamous-cell carcinoma tissues, including 13 cases of HPV-16, 0 case of HPV-18, and 7 cases of other HPV types. In the other 5 adenocarcinoma tissues, 3 had HPV type-18 DNA and 2 had no detectable HPV DNA. The distribution of HPV DNA in bulky tumors was not statistically different from that in the other 228 squamous-cell carcinomas and 23 adenocarcinomas of smaller size operated upon during the same period. Out of the 26 patients, 9 (35%) had lymph node metastasis at the time of operation. During the follow-up period ranging from 19 to 48 months, 9 patients had recurrence and 7 of them died of disease. The distribution of HPV types was not related to the prognosis in these patients. There were no p53 mutations detected in all the 26 samples. Thus, HPV type and the status of p53 could not serve as additional prognostic factors in stage IB bulky cervical cancers.