Abstract
Background. A significant number of non-small-cell lung cancers (NSCLC) have human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA integrated in their genome. This study sought to further establish HPV's possible etiologic link to NSCLC by evaluating an immune response to HPV's oncogene, E7, in patients with NSCLC. Patients and Methods. Antibodies (IgG) in serum against E7 for HPV 16 and 18 in 100 patients with NSCLC were examined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results. Sixteen NSCLC patients were found to have a high titration of IgG for HPV oncogenic E7 protein. 23.5% of adenocarcinomas (AC,) and 15.4% of squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) were positive for IgG against HPV E7. HPV-18 (11%) had a slightly higher frequency than HPV-16 (6%). Of the six positive cases for HPV-16, 3 were AC, 2 SCC, and 1 NOS (not otherwise specified). For the 11 HPV-18 positives, 7 were AC, and 4 SCC. The one case with IgG against HPV 16 and 18 was AC. One case had high cross-reactive levels against E7 of HPV 16 and 18. Two (28%) of 7 patients who reported never smoking were positive for HPV, and 12 (13.6%) of 88 smokers were HPV positive. Conclusions. The study detected high levels of IgG against E7 in 16% of NSCLC patients. This adds evidence to a potential role of HPV in the pathogenesis of NSCLC.