Prevalence and risk factors of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection in southern Chinese women - a population-based study.

Background: Persistent high-risk type Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is recognized as a necessary cause of cervical cancer. This study aimed to compare the HPV prevalence and risk factors between women residing in Hong Kong (HK) and Guangzhou (GZ) region of China.

Methodology/principal Findings: A total of 1,570 and 1,369 women were recruited from HK and GZ, respectively.

Promoter methylation of death-associated protein kinase and its role in irradiation response in cervical cancer.

This study was aimed at investigating the death-associated protein kinase (DAPK) promoter methylation and its clinical relevance in cervical cancer. The DAPK promoter methylation was detected by methylation-specific PCR (MSP) and correlated with DAPK mRNA and protein expression. The effect of DAPK expression on the radiosensitivity of the cervical cancer cell line was assessed by overexpressing DAPK in the radioresistant cell line SiHa.

Enhancement of the radiosensitivity of cervical cancer cells by overexpressing p73alpha.

Radiation therapy is the most effective therapy for cervical cancer in advanced stages. p53 plays a critical role in the cellular response to radiation-induced DNA damage. However, p53 function is often impaired in the presence of the oncoprotein E6 from human papillomavirus, which is often associated with the development of cervical cancer.

p73 expression is associated with the cellular radiosensitivity in cervical cancer after radiotherapy.

Apoptosis is one of the causes of cell death in cervical cancer following radiotherapy. By studying the gene expression profile with cDNA apoptotic array, the p73 gene was found overexpressed in radiosensitive cervical cancers when compared with radioresistant ones. To investigate the role of the p73 gene in relation to clinical assessment of radiosensitivity in cervical cancer based on the findings of residual tumor cells in cervical biopsies after completion of radiotherapy, we studied the protein expression of p73 in 59 cervical cancers after radiotherapy and 68 normal cervices using immunohistochemistry.