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Human papillomavirus (HPV) E2 and L1 proteins are expressed in cervical cells during the lytic stage of infection. Overexpression of p16 INK4A is a biomarker of HPV-associated cervical neoplasia. This study investigated antibodies to HPV16 E2, HPV16 L1, and p16 INK4A in sera from women with no squamous intraepithelial lesion (No-SIL) of the cervix, low-grade SIL, high-grade SIL, and cervical squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). HPV DNA was detected by polymerase chain reaction. Anti-E2, -L1, and -p16 INK4A antibodies in sera were determined by western blot. Among 116 samples, 69 (60%) were HPV DNA-positive. Percentages seropositive for anti-E2, -L1, and -p16 INK4A antibodies were 39.6, 22.4, and 23.3%, respectively. Anti-E2 antibody was significantly correlated with HPV DNA-positive cases. Eighty-seven women (75%) were regarded as infected with HPV, having at least one positive result from HPV DNA, L1, or E2 antibody. Antibody to p16 INK4A was associated with HPV infection (odds = 5.444, 95% CI 1.203-24.629, P = 0.028) and precancerous cervical lesions (odds = 5.132, 95% CI 1.604-16.415, P = 0.006). Interestingly, the concurrent detection of anti-E2 and -p16 INK4A antibodies was significantly associated with HPV infection (odds = 1.382, 95% CI 1.228-1.555, P = 0.044). These antibodies might be good candidate biomarkers for monitoring HPV-associated cervical lesion development to cancer.

The etiology of oral carcinogenesis appears to be multifactorial. There is emerging evidence of the presence of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in epithelial oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), but an association of EBV with oral carcinogenesis has not yet been established. Although epigenetic alterations, such as aberrant DNA methylation, are known to contribute to the pathogenesis of oral cancer, the relationship of such alterations with EBV infection is little known. This study aimed to investigate the association between EBV infection and promoter methylation patterns of tumor-associated genes in OSCC tissues. A total of 165 of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded OSCC tissues were studied (68 of EBV positive and 97 of EBV negative). The promoter methylation patterns were investigated for four tumor-associated genes, E-cadherin, p16 INK4a , p14 ARF , and MGMT, by using methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction (MSP). The frequencies of gene promoter hypermethylation in all cases were 47.3% for E-cadherin, 92.7% for p16 INK4a , 74.5% for p14 ARF , and 35.8% for MGMT. Interestingly, most of the analyzed gene promoters were more frequently hypermethylated in EBV-positive than EBV-negative cases, in particular the E-cadherin (56/22) and MGMT (38/21) gene promoters (p < 0.05). Concomitantly, hypermethylation of multiple gene promoters (≥3) was encountered more frequently in EBV-positive samples. Hypermethylation of the E-cadherin promoter associated with EBV was more frequently observed in moderately and poorly differentiated OSCC tissues. These results indicate that epigenetic changes frequently occur in OSCCs and may partly be induced by EBV infection, therefore, EBV may involve in development and progression of the OSCCs.