• Gross cervical lesions differ in positivity with HPV-E6 DNA and HPV-mRNA. • Positivity with HPV-E6mRNA-50% is higher than HPV-E6DNA-46% in gross cervical lesions • Younger age of sexual debut is a risk factor for HPV positivity. • E6-mRNA of HPV18 is higher in women without intraepithelial lesions than HPV16. To assess the comparative presence of E6DNA and E6mRNA of HPV16&18 genotypes in gross cervical lesions, its correlation with cytological findings and sociodemographic factors. Using a cross-sectional study design, 50 women with gross cervical lesions were recruited from the gynecology clinics of the two Referral Hospitals of Sikkim. Exfoliated cervical cells were evaluated for presence of HPV16/18 E6DNA and E6mRNA using real-time PCR with an in-house designed assay. Relative expressions of E6 DNA and E6mRNA were analyzed with sociodemographic factors using logistic regression and independent sample t- test. HPV16&18 E6DNA and E6mRNA was present in 46% and 50% of the samples respectively. Among women with Intraepithelial lesion, 56% (14/25) positivity was seen for HPV 16&18 E6mRNA, and 44% in women without Intraepithelial lesions. Comparatively, E6DNA was present in 40% (10/25) of women with Intraepithelial lesions and in 48% (12/25) of women without intraepithelial lesions. Younger age of sexual debut was found to be an independent predictor for HPV positivity with both DNA as well as mRNA. Presence of HPV-E6DNA and HPV-E6mRNA differ in gross cervical lesions, Intraepithelial lesions showed higher positivity with E6mRNA as compared to E6DNA. The possible factors behind E6mRNA positivity in women with normal cytology (44%) needs further evaluation to define its clinical significance.
Lal et al. (Wed,) studied this question.