The Value of Immunocytochemical Staining for the HPV E7 Protein in the Diagnosis of Cervical Lesions

Mingjian Fei; Yawei Yu; Xiaolan Hu; Haimiao Xu; Fang Liu

doi:10.2147/IJGM.S402759

The Value of Immunocytochemical Staining for the HPV E7 Protein in the Diagnosis of Cervical Lesions

Int J Gen Med. 2023 Mar 24:16:1081-1089. doi: 10.2147/IJGM.S402759. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Mingjian Fei¹, Yawei Yu¹, Xiaolan Hu¹, Haimiao Xu², Fang Liu³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pathology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Jiaxing University, Jiaxing, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China.
² Department of Pathology, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China.
³ Department of Gynecology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Jiaxing University, Jiaxing, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China.

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the value of immunocytochemical (ICC) staining for human papillomavirus (HPV) E7 protein (E7-ICC staining) as a new-generation immunological method in the cytological diagnosis of cervical lesions.

Methods: The exfoliated cervical cell samples of 690 women were subjected to a liquid-based cytology test (LCT), high-risk HPV (HR-HPV) test, E7-ICC staining, and cervical biopsy for pathological diagnosis.

Results: E7-ICC staining as a preliminary screening scheme for cervical precancerous lesions was comparable to the HR-HPV test in sensitivity and to the LCT in specificity. E7-ICC staining was advantageous in facilitating the secondary triage of HR-HPV-positive patients; therefore, this method can be used as an auxiliary scheme to routine LCT for diagnostic grading to improve the accuracy of cervical cytology.

Conclusion: E7-ICC staining as a primary or auxiliary cytological screening scheme can effectively reduce the colposcopy referral rate.

Keywords: E7 oncoprotein; HPV; cervical cancer; cervical intraepithelial neoplasia; early screening for cervical cancer; immunohistochemistry.