Unique Cells Cause HPV Related Cervical Cancers

A unique set of cells identified in the cervix are the cause of human papillomaviruses (HPV)-related cervical cancers. These cells do not regenerate when excised. The findings have immense clinical implications in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of cervical cancer.

Infection with HPV is the most common cause or risk factor for cervical cancer. HPV infection causes preinvasive cancer, termed Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia (CIN), which are precancerous lesions that can progress and potentially become invasive cancer if left untreated.

Dr. Wa Xian, principal investigator at IMB, said, "Our study also revealed that this exotic population of cells does not reappear after ablation by cone biopsy. This finding helps to explain the low rate of new HPV infections in the cervix after excisional therapy and also raises the distinct possibility that preemptive removal of these cells in young women could reduce their risk of cervical cancer.

A team of scientists from A*STAR's Institute of Medical Biology (IMB; Singapore) and Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS; Singapore) together with clinicians from Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH; Boston, MA, USA) identified the unique set of cells in the cervix that are the cause of human papillomaviruses (HPV)-related cervical cancers. Significantly, the team also showed that these cells do not regenerate when excised. These findings have immense clinical implications in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of cervical cancer.

Dr. Christopher P. Crum, director of women's and perinatal pathology in the department of pathology at BWH, said, "It has been a decades-old mystery why cervical cancers caused by HPV arise only from a discrete region of the cervix, known as the ‘squamocolumnar junction,’ despite the presence of the virus throughout the genital tract. The discovery of these cells finally resolves this mystery and will have wide-ranging impact from developing more meaningful animal models of early cervical carcinogenesis to clinical implications."

The team discovered that this discrete set of cells, located at the squamocolumnar junction of the cervix, uniquely express biomarkers that are seen in all forms of invasive cervical cancers linked to HPV. This means that the signature markers of this population of cells can provide a way of distinguishing potentially dangerous precancerous lesions from those with a benign prognosis.

The study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA (PNAS), in June 2012. Cervical cancer is the seventh most common female cancer in Singapore and about 200 cases are diagnosed every year. Infection with HPV is the most common cause or risk factor for cervical cancer. HPV infection causes preinvasive cancer, termed CIN (Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia), which are precancerous lesions that can progress and potentially become invasive cancer if left untreated.

Prof Birgitte Lane, executive director of IMB, said, "This compelling study lends further weight to the importance of specific target cell populations underlying cancer. It is a powerful example of what can be done by combining skilled pathology with modern molecular genetics to uncover important new information, even in such a well-studied disease as cervical cancer."

Related Links:
A*STAR's Institute of Medical Biology
Genome Institute of Singapore
Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital