Comparison Between HPV DNA Testing and HPV E6/E7 MRNA Testing in Women with Squamous Cell Abnormalities of the Uterine Cervix

The aim of the study was to compare the results of two human papillomavirus (HPV) diagnostic techniques: human papillomavirus deoxyribonucleic acid (HPV DNA) testing and human papillomavirus E6/E7 messenger ribonucleic acid (HPV E6/E7 mRNA) testing in women with squamous cell abnormalities of the uterine cervix. Comparative prospective study, conducted in the period from January 2016 to June 2017 of 128 sexually active women, age groups of 20 to 59 years (40.50 ± 10.85) with squamous cell abnormalities on the cervical cytology. All patients were subject to: HPV DNA testing, HPV E6/E7 mRNA testing and colposcopic cervical biopsy with endocervical curettage for histopathologycal analysis. HPV DNA testing was done using multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and reverse hybridization methods. HPV E6/E7 mRNA testing was done using real-time PCR method. Data analysis showed an association between the results of HPV DNA testing and HPV E6/E7 mRNA testing (p˂0.0001). The concordance between the results of both tests was moderate (55.47%). The results show that HPV E6/E7 mRNA testing had a higer specificity 88.89% and positive predictive value (PPV) 93.59% for HSIL + invasive squamous cell carcinoma compared to HPV DNA testing that had specificity of 55.56% and PPV 84.61%, respectively. The results of our study suggested that HPV E6/E7 mRNA testing is more specific and has a higher positive predictive value than HPV DNA testing and that viral oncoproteins E6 and E7 are superior biomarkers for the detection of high-risk HPV-associated squamous intraepithelial lesions of the uterine cervix.