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Characterisation of anal intraepithelial neoplasia and anal cancer in HIV-positive men by immunohistochemical markers p16, Ki-67, HPV-E4 and DNA methylation markers.

Authors :
van der Zee RP
Meijer CJLM
Cuming T
Kreuter A
van de Sandt MM
Quint WGV
de Vries HJC
Prins JM
Steenbergen RDM
Source :
International journal of cancer [Int J Cancer] 2021 Nov 15; Vol. 149 (10), pp. 1833-1844. Date of Electronic Publication: 2021 Aug 04.
Publication Year :
2021

Abstract

Human papillomavirus (HPV)-induced anal intraepithelial neoplasia (AIN, graded 1-3) is highly prevalent in HIV-positive (HIV+) men who have sex with men (MSM), but only a minority of lesions progresses to cancer. Our study aimed to characterise comprehensively anal tissue samples from a cross-sectional series (n = 104) of HIV+ MSM and longitudinal series (n = 40) of AIN2/3 progressing to cancer using different biomarkers. The cross-sectional series consisted of 8 normal, 26 AIN1, 45 AIN2, 15 AIN3 and 10 anal squamous cell carcinoma. Tissue sections were immunohistochemically (IHC) stained for p16 (viral transformation marker), Ki-67 (cellular proliferation marker) and HPV-E4 (viral production marker). We evaluated the expression of IHC markers and compared it with DNA methylation, a marker for malignant transformation. E4 positivity decreased, whereas p16 and Ki-67 scores and methylation marker positivity increased (P values < .001) with increasing severity of anal lesions. Within AIN2, a heterogeneous biomarker pattern was observed concerning E4, p16 and methylation status, reflecting the biological heterogeneity of these lesions. In the longitudinal series, all AIN2/3 and carcinomas showed high p16 and Ki-67 expression, strong methylation positivity and occasional E4 positivity. We earlier showed that high methylation levels are associated with progression to cancer. The observed E4 expression in some AIN2/3 during the course of progression to cancer and absence of E4 in a considerable number of AIN1 lesions make the potential clinical significance of E4 expression difficult to interpret. Our data show that IHC biomarkers can help to characterise AIN; however, their prognostic value for cancer risk stratification, next to objective methylation analysis, appears to be limited.<br /> (© 2021 The Authors. International Journal of Cancer published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of UICC.)

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
1097-0215
Volume :
149
Issue :
10
Database :
MEDLINE
Journal :
International journal of cancer
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
34310698
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1002/ijc.33748