Pilot study evaluates automated and triplex qPCR assays for circulating HPV DNA detection in HPV-associated dysplasia and cancer, highlighting enhanced sensitivity with optimized primers.
Use of quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) to measure viral DNA in plasma has promise for the detection and/or monitoring of high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV)-associated cancers. We examined Roche’s cobas 6800 HPV test for detection of hrHPV in plasma or peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of patients with HPV-associated dysplasia or cancer. In our pilot study, this assay detected hrHPV DNA in 1 mL pre-treatment plasma of patients with advanced (stage II-IV) cervical cancer, but not stage I or dysplasia cases, or in PBMC. Plasma of oropharyngeal cancer patients also tested positive in most cases. Seeking to enhance sensitivity, we re-tested these pilot samples with qPCR employing three published primer sets (E7, BR E1-5, HR E5L2-4) selected for improved detection of HPV16 in cancer. This triplex assay detected quantifiable levels of HPV16 in pre-treatment plasma of advanced (stage II-IV) cervical cancer cases, and lower levels in some stage I and dysplasia cases. In serial sampling of HPV16 + cervical cancer patients post-treatment with no evidence of disease over ~2 years, no reproducible signal was detected by cobas HPV testing, whereas the triplex qPCR sporadically detected HPV DNA in plasma and PBMC samples of a subset of these patients.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Mostafa et al. (2026) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: