HPV DNA in autopsy-derived material from multiple metastases of a cervical carcinoma

Fresh tissue from primary tumor and a metastasis of a cervical carcinoma and 13 autopsy-derived tissue specimens of the same patient were analyzed for HPV DNA by Southern blot hybridization and PCR. Primary tumor and 7 of 10 histologically proven distant metastases contained HPV 16 DNA by Southern blot. PCR detected HPV 16 in all 10 metastases and in 2 of 3 additional tumor-free autopsy-derived tissues. The restriction pattern was identical in all HPV-positive lesions and only slight variations in copy number occurred. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis showed the viral DNA fully integrated in the cellular genome without any difference between primary tumor and metastasis. The relevance of HPV also for the metastatic spread of the malignant disease is indicated by its conserved presence in multiple distant metastases of cervical carcinoma.