Quantitative methylation analysis of human papillomavirus 16Â L1 gene reveals potential biomarker for cervical cancer progression

Human papillomavirus 16 is the most prevalent type found in cervical cancer worldwide, accounting for >50% of all cases. Quantitative methylation analysis of human papillomavirus 16 L1 gene within 5′ (CpGs 5600, 5606, 5609, 5615) and 3′ (7136 and 7145) regions to determine potential biomarker for cervical cancer progression was performed in exfoliated cervical cells collected from 101 Thai women of precancerous and cancerous lesions. Intermediate to high methylation levels (>20%) were detected in HPV16 5′L1 regions especially CpG 5600 of all cancerous (100%) and 50% of CIN3 samples, whereas normal/CIN1 samples (80%) showed methylation levels <20%. Our results indicate the potential use of HPV 16 L1 gene methylation at specific site as a biomarker for prognostic cervical cancer screening, however, suitable cutoff should be further evaluated in a larger sample size.