HPV strains may impact cervical cancer prognosis

Date:
August 10, 2020
Source:
University of British Columbia
Summary:
An analysis of cervical cancers in Ugandan women has uncovered
significant genomic differences between tumors caused by different
strains of human papillomavirus (HPV), signifying HPV type may
impact cervical cancer characteristics and prognosis.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
An analysis of cervical cancers in Ugandan women has uncovered significant genomic differences between tumours caused by different strains of human papillomavirus (HPV), signifying HPV type may impact cervical cancer characteristics and prognosis.


==========================================================================
The study -- recently published in Nature Genetics -- was led by a
team of researchers, including scientists at the University of British
Columbia and Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre (GSC) at BC
Cancer, and represents the first comprehensive analysis of molecular characteristics of cervical cancers in an African population.

The researchers compared cervical cancer samples infected by different evolutionary related groups of HPV types, known as clades. They
identified previously unknown differences in how HPV clades impact
the human genome. HPV- 16 and HPV-18, belonging to clades A9 and A7, respectively, are the most common causes of cervical cancer detected in
at least 70 per cent of cases. Although both are considered high-risk,
HPV-18 was associated with more clinically aggressive cancers.

"We are very grateful to have had the opportunity to engage in a wonderful collaboration, involving teams of researchers from different countries
and continents, to use genome science to analyze these very precious
samples from Ugandan patients," says Dr. Marco Marra, Director of the
GSC and head of UBC's department of medical genetics in the faculty
of medicine. "This opportunity speaks to the foresight of those who collaborated with the Uganda Cancer Institute in Kampala to perform
sample collection, and the study funders that made it possible. We are especially grateful to the support of the patients, without whom this
work could not have happened." HPV infection is a leading cause of
cervical cancer. In B.C., cervical cancer incidence has been decreasing
due to HPV vaccination and regular screening.

However, cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer worldwide
and is the most common form of cancer-related mortality in sub-Saharan
African women, with researchers predicting a 50 per cent increase in
cervical cancer mortality by 2040.

It is critically important to study cervical cancer in African
populations, and to compare the results obtained to other HPV-associated cancers, such as head and neck cancers, which are being observed with increasing frequency in western populations.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_British_Columbia. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Alessia Gagliardi, Vanessa L. Porter, Zusheng Zong, Reanne Bowlby,
Emma
Titmuss, Constance Namirembe, Nicholas B. Griner, Hilary Petrello,
Jay Bowen, Simon K. Chan, Luka Culibrk, Teresa M. Darragh, Mark
H. Stoler, Thomas C. Wright, Patee Gesuwan, Maureen A. Dyer,
Yussanne Ma, Karen L.

Mungall, Steven J. M. Jones, Carolyn Nakisige, Karen Novik, Jackson
Orem, Martin Origa, Julie M. Gastier-Foster, Robert Yarchoan,
Corey Casper, Gordon B. Mills, Janet S. Rader, Akinyemi I. Ojesina,
Daniela S. Gerhard, Andrew J. Mungall, Marco A. Marra. Analysis
of Ugandan cervical carcinomas identifies human papillomavirus
clade-specific epigenome and transcriptome landscapes. Nature
Genetics, 2020; 52 (8): 800 DOI: 10.1038/s41588-020-0673-7 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200810140957.htm

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