mRNA Detection in Anal Cytology: A Feasible Approach for Anal Cancer Screening in Men Who Have Sex with Men Living With HIV
Marta Del Pino,
Cristina Martí,
Jina Gaber,
Cecilia Svanholm-Barrie,
Leonardo Rodríguez-Carunchio,
Adriano Rodriguez-Trujillo,
Núria Carreras,
Irene Fuertes,
Esther Barnadas,
Lorena Marimón,
Jose Luis Blanco,
David H Persing,
Aureli Torné,
Jaume Ordi
Affiliations
Marta Del Pino
Institute Clinic of Gynaecology, Obstetrics, and Neonatology, Hospital Clínic—Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), University of Barcelona, 08036 Barcelona, Spain
Cristina Martí
Institute Clinic of Gynaecology, Obstetrics, and Neonatology, Hospital Clínic—Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), University of Barcelona, 08036 Barcelona, Spain
Jina Gaber
Cepheid AB, 71 54 Solna, Sweden
Cecilia Svanholm-Barrie
Cepheid AB, 71 54 Solna, Sweden
Leonardo Rodríguez-Carunchio
Department of Pathology, Hospital Clínic, University of Barcelona, 08036 Barcelona, Spain
Adriano Rodriguez-Trujillo
Institute Clinic of Gynaecology, Obstetrics, and Neonatology, Hospital Clínic—Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), University of Barcelona, 08036 Barcelona, Spain
Núria Carreras
Institute Clinic of Gynaecology, Obstetrics, and Neonatology, Hospital Clínic—Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), University of Barcelona, 08036 Barcelona, Spain
Irene Fuertes
Department of Dermatology, Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, University of Barcelona, 08036 Barcelona, Spain
Esther Barnadas
Department of Pathology, Hospital Clínic, University of Barcelona, 08036 Barcelona, Spain
Lorena Marimón
Department of Pathology, Hospital Clínic, University of Barcelona, 08036 Barcelona, Spain
Jose Luis Blanco
Department of Dermatology, Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, University of Barcelona, 08036 Barcelona, Spain
David H Persing
Cepheid AB, Sunnyvale, CA 94089, USA
Aureli Torné
Institute Clinic of Gynaecology, Obstetrics, and Neonatology, Hospital Clínic—Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), University of Barcelona, 08036 Barcelona, Spain
Jaume Ordi
Department of Pathology, Hospital Clínic, University of Barcelona, 08036 Barcelona, Spain
There is growing interest in anal cancer screening strategies. However, cytological/molecular evaluation of anal samples is challenging. We aimed to determine the feasibility of detecting, in anal liquid-based cytologies, the expression of biomarkers involved in the cell cycle disturbance elicited by human papillomavirus (HPV). The accuracy of this approach in the identification of high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions/anal intraepithelial neoplasia grade2–3 (HSIL/AIN2–3) was also evaluated. 215 anal cytologies from men having sex with men living with human immunodeficiency virus were evaluated. Patients showing concordant cytological and anoscopy-directed biopsy diagnosis were selected: 70 with negative cytology and HPV test, 70 with low-grade SIL (LSIL/AIN1) cytology and biopsy, and 75 with cytology and biopsy of HSIL/AIN2–3. CDKN2A/p16, MKI67 and TOP2A mRNA expression was analyzed. HPV detection was performed with Xpert HPV Assay (Cepheid, Sunnyvale, CA, USA). HSIL/AIN2–3 showed higher expression for the biomarkers than LSIL/AIN1 or negative samples. The specificity for HSIL/AIN2–3 detection for a sensitivity established at 70% was 44.7% (95%confidence interval [CI] 36.5–53.2) for TOP2A and MKI67 and 54.5% (95%CI 46.0–62.8%) for CDKN2A/p16. mRNA detection of cell biomarkers in anal liquid-based cytology is feasible. Further studies are warranted to confirm if strategies based on mRNA detection have any role in anal cancer screening.
