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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Oncol.
Sec. Gynecological Oncology
Volume 15 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fonc.2025.1481621

Methylation Sites of Human Papillomavirus 16 as Potential Biomarkers for Cervical Cancer Progression

Provisionally accepted
Sha Ji Sha Ji 1*Nannan Ji Nannan Ji 2
  • 1 People's Hospital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Ürümqi, China
  • 2 First Affiliated Hospital of Shihezi University, Shihezi, Xinjiang Uyghur Region, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Objective: To investigate the methylation levels at 13 specific sites of the human papillomavirus 16 (HPV16) L1 gene as potential biomarkers for the diagnosis of cervical cancer. Methods: Samples were collected from the gynaecological outpatient and inpatient departments of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region People’s Hospital. A total of 107 women participated in this study, including 54 with cervical cancer (32 Uygur, 22 Han) and 53 with cervical inflammation (32 Uygur, 21 Han). Methylation analysis was performed using pyrosequencing to quantitatively assess methylation levels at specified CpG sites within the HPV16 L1 gene. Results: High methylation levels were predominantly observed at sites 5927, 5963 and 6367 in cervical cancer cells compared with inflammatory cells. Methylation patterns exhibited no significant differences between the Han and Uygur ethnic groups but correlated with viral load and age within each group. Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses of these methylation sites indicated high diagnostic accuracy in distinguishing between high-grade lesions and less severe conditions. Conclusions: Methylation of specific CpG sites in the HPV16 L1 gene holds promise as a biomarker for cervical cancer progression. The gene locus at position 6367 has important features in the methylation pattern of cervical cancer, and high accuracy shown in diagnosis make it a potential biomarker for early diagnosis of cervical cancer.

    Keywords: Human papillomavirus 16, cervical cancer, Methylation, biomarkers, pyrosequencing

    Received: 16 Aug 2024; Accepted: 08 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Ji and Ji. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Sha Ji, People's Hospital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Ürümqi, China

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