Application value of HPV E6/E7 mRNA and HPV E6/E7 DNA in screening cervical squamous intraepithelial lesions

AIM To investigate the diagnostic value of human papillomavirus （HPV） E6/E7 mRNA and DNA detection in cervical squamous epithelial lesion screening via retrospective analysis. METHODS The HPV E6/E7 mRNA detection， HPV E6/E7 DNA detection and p16 immunohistochemistry were performed in 206 patients undergoing ThinPrep cytology test （TCT） in Gansu Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine， and the results of different cytological and histological grades were observed. RESULTS The positive rates of HPV E6/E7 mRNA and DNA were increased with the progress of cervical squamous intraepithelial lesions （P<0.05） in different cytological grades and histopathological grades. The detection rate of HPV E6/E7 mRNA was lower than that of HPV E6/E7 DNA （P<0.05） in atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance （ASC-US） and low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion （LSIL）. The results of immunohistochemistry showed that the positive rate of p16 was increased with the grade of cervical squamous epithelial lesions （P<0.05）. HPV E6/E7 DNA+p16 for cervical squamous epithelial lesion screening had the highest sensitivity， and the specificity of HPV E6/E7 mRNA was the highest. The positive predictive value of HPV E6/E7 DNA was the highest in LSIL， while the positive predictive value of HPV E6/E7 mRNA+p16 was the highest in high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion （HSIL）. CONCLUSION HPV E6/E7 DNA+p16 has the highest sensitivity in screening for cervical squamous epithelial lesions. HPV E6/E7 mRNA more accurately reflects the activation status of HPV， especially in HSIL screening， HPV E6/E7 mRNA+p16 is more specific. The results of this research provide stronger theoretical support for clinical treatment.