Detection of Human Papillomavirus in biopsies of patients with cervical cancer, and its association with prognosis

To assess the detection of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) in cervical biopsies, and its association with clinical response and survival of patients with cervical cancer. The presence of HPV was determined by polymerase chain reaction (nested PCR) of material from 183 paraffin blocks containing biopsies of patients with cervical cancer. Directives of the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) were used for the clinical staging of all cases. Survival analysis was conducted with the Kaplan-Meier method and differences between the curves were calculated by the log-rank test. Amplification was positive in 78 cases, negative in 96 cases and indeterminate in 9. The detection of HPV had no statistically significant effect on the survival of patients. From amongst the variables analyzed, only HPV positivity and clinical staging influenced a complete response after completing treatment. However, clinical staging was the only factor associated with progression of the disease, with patients in the early stages presenting better overall survival rates (p < 0.001).