Association between type-specific HPV infections and hTERT DNA methylation in patients with invasive cervical cancer

Abstract

Background: There exists limited information on the role of hTERT methylation, and its association with type-specific HPV infections in cervical cancer. Materials and Methods: Eighty-seven frozen samples were analyzed for type-specific HPV infection using a GP5+/GP6+ PCRRLB assay (RLB). hTERT DNA methylation analysis was performed using a newly developed PCR-RLB-hTERT. Results: Ninety-three percent of samples were HPV-positive and fifteen different types were detected. hTERT methylation analysis of region 1 revealed no methylation in 78.8% of the samples and partial methylation in 21.2%. In region two, 68.2% showed no methylation and 31.8% showed a pattern of partial methylation. An associat..