Objective: To define a correlation between different human papillomavirus (HPV) types and telomerase activity in cervical cancer.
Methods: Telomerase activity was detected by TRAP-PCR, and different HPV type was determined by PCR in 83 cervical cancer, 47 cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and 10 normal cervix cases.
Results: With regard to positive rates of telomerase and HPV 16/18: the results were cervical cancer > CIN > normal cervix, CIN III > CIN I, II; with regard to HPV 6/11 positive rate: the results showed CIN I, II > CIN III. Positive rates of telomerase cervical cancer and HPV were bearing on grading and staging, but they did not correlate with histologic subtypes. Positive rate of HPV 6/11 had nothing to do with grading, staging and histologic patterns. On expression strength of telomerase and HPV 16/18: the results showed cervical cancer > CIN, CIN III > CIN I, II. Regard to HPV 6/11'expression strength: the results showed CIN I, II > CIN III, CIN > cervical carcinoma.
Conclusion: HPV 16/18 infection seemed to have played an important role in carcinogenesis of cervical lesions by activation of telomerase.