Epidemiological study of HPV-related cancers in Asia-Pacific region

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Detection of human papillomavirus (HPV), a widely-accepted risk factor of cervical cancer, has been reported in other types of carcinomas including cancers of the esophagus and the lung. To clarify the effects of interactions among environmental factors including radiation exposure and lifestyles, viral factors, and genetic factors on carcinogenesis, this study examine epidemiological, clinic-pathological, viral, and molecular biological features of virus (mainly HPV)-related cancers in comparison with those of non-virus-related cancers.HPV genome was detected in 10-30% of carcinomas of the esophagus, the lung, and the breast, and its detection rate varied by regions and histological type of tumors. The most frequent genotype was high-risk type of HPV-16 in all sites of tumors. Although real-time PCR analysis indicated the presence of integrated-form of viral DNA in most of HPV-16-positive specimens, the estimated viral load was significantly lower (around 0.1 copy per cell) than that of cervical cancers. These results suggested that the role of HPV in carcinogenesis differ between these organs and cervix.On the other hand, we observed the high frequency of HPV-positive cases among gefitinib-responsive lung adenocarcinomas, and the high frequency of high-risk types of HPV and high viral load in cancers in a high background radiation area. Further investigations are warranted to examine HPV interactions with genetic and other environmental factors.