Human papillomavirus antibody responses among patients with incident cervical carcinoma

The human papillomavirus (HPV) is recognized as a major cause of cervical cancer precursor lesions. HPV serology is a key method in the continuing elucidation of the importance of HPV exposure for cancer development and in predicting HPV-associated diseases. To extend previous HPV serological studies on cervical cancer, serum samples from a consecutive series of 216 women with incident untreated cervical carcinoma and 243 age- and sex-matched healthy blood donors were evaluated for the presence of antibodies against HPV capsids, a marker of past or present HPV exposure, as well as against several cervical cancer-associated defined HPV epitopes. Among the capsid antibody responses, HPV type 16 seropositivity had the strongest association with cervical cancer (OR 2.7, 95% CI 1.8-4.2), but HPV 18 and HPV 33 seropositivities were also significantly associated with cervical cancer (OR 1.6, 95% CI 1.1-2.5; and OR 1.5, 95% CI 1.0-2.2, respectively). The antibody responses against the defined HPV epitopes were confirmed to be associated with cervical cancer, at ORs ranging from 1.4 to 2.0. In conclusion, the study confirms that antibodies against defined HPV epitopes are associated with cervical cancer and provides evidence that seropositivities for HPV types 16, 18, and 33 are associated with cervical cancer risk.