1:00 pm, Monday, 26 June
Room BIG13, Ground Floor
Biochemistry Building
710 Cumberland St
Prof Merilyn Hibma
Microbiology & Immunology
Immunological biomarkers that predict progression in HPV positive cervical pre-cancer
Cervical cancer cases are almost entirely a result of infection with the high-risk, cancer-causing types of human papillomavirus (HPV). Squamous cervical cancer has well-defined pre-cancerous stages. These stages are currently identified using liquid-based cytology (LBC) testing in the national screening programme. The primary test used in the screening programme is about to change to HPV testing. This test is more sensitive and has a significant benefit that women can collect their own vaginal swab sample. Self-collection is shown to increase screening uptake in under-screened women.
There will be a follow-up triage test using LBC for some women with a positive HPV test. However, follow up LBC testing is a potential barrier for under-screened women, and in Australia it has been associated with around a 60 % loss-to-follow up. An improved triage test that is less invasive for women would greatly benefit the cervical screening programme.
Our research is focused on the identification of biomarkers that predict disease progression, that may form the basis of improved triage testing. It is known that around 11-40% of high-grade pre-cancerous cervical lesions (CIN2/3) spontaneously regress through a process that is primarily immune mediated. The results presented here describe cells in the immune microenvironment of HPV positive cervical pre-cancer lesions and establish the relationship with progression to more severe disease. We report significant differences in immune cell populations that infiltrate CIN2 and the local dermal region, depending on subsequent disease progression or persistence/regression. This detailed analysis of the tissue microenvironment in progression may inform future tests for disease progression in HPV positive women.
