PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Dong, Seung Myung AU - Pai, Sara I. AU - Rha, Seo-Hee AU - Hildesheim, Allan AU - Kurman, Robert J. AU - Schwartz, Peter E. AU - Mortel, Rodrigue AU - McGowan, Larry AU - Greenberg, Mitchell D. AU - Barnes, Willard A. AU - Sidransky, David TI - Detection and Quantitation of Human Papillomavirus DNA in the Plasma of Patients with Cervical Carcinoma DP - 2002 Jan 01 TA - Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention PG - 3--6 VI - 11 IP - 1 4099 - http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/11/1/3.short 4100 - http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/11/1/3.full SO - Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev2002 Jan 01; 11 AB - Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) play a central role in the development of cervical carcinoma. Plasma DNA from 232 patients taken at diagnosis or after treatment for invasive cervical cancer (n = 175) or carcinoma in situ (n = 57) and 60 normal controls were examined for HPV-16 or HPV-18 E7 DNA by conventional and real-time quantitative PCR assays. We found HPV-16 or HPV-18 E7 DNA in 6.9% (11 of 175) of invasive cervical cancer cases (18.1% of cases positive for HPV-16 or HPV-18 at the genital tract), 1.8% (1 of 57) of carcinoma in situ, and 1.7% (1 of 60) of normal controls by conventional PCR. Quantitative PCR identified the highest concentrations of HPV DNA (copy number of HPV/ml of plasma) in patients with invasive cervical cancer (mean, 11,163; median, 183.5), followed by a level of 8 in the single carcinoma in situ case and 0 copies in the normal control initially positive by conventional PCR. HPV DNA can be detected in the plasma of some patients with HPV-positive cervical tumors. It remains to be demonstrated whether quantitative PCR analysis of HPV DNA in plasma may have utility in patients at high risk of recurrent disease.