Objective To investigate the significance of genomic amplification of the telomerase RNA component (TERC) gene to serve as a genetic biomarker in the screening of cervicallesions.Methods A total of 715 cases were recruited,with liquid-based cytology diagnosis as normal (n=347),atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS,n=180),atypical squamous cells cannot exclude a high-grade lesion (ASC-H,n=13),low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSIL,n=115),high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions(HSIL,n=59)and atypical glandular cells(AGC,n=1).The remaining cervical cells in the cytological preserving fluid were analyzed using a two-color fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) probe targeted to chromosome 3q26 containing TERC gene.The TERC gene findings were compared to the cytological and histological detected results,as well as high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) detected results.Results Genomic amplification of TERC gene was found in 5.8% of normal specimens,22.2% of ASCUS.30.8% of ASC-H,27.8% of LSIL,86.4% of HSIL and 1/1 of AGC.The positive rate was significantly lower in normal,ASCUS,ASC-H and ISIL.compared with HSIL(all P<0.01).Significantly more cells with genomic amplification of TERC gene were found in cervical intraepithelial lesion(CIN) Ⅱ-Ⅲ than CIN Ⅰ (77.8% vs.9.3%),as well as invasive cervical cancer (96.7% vs.9.3%).both P < 0.01.The rate of TERC gene amplification was higher in HPV positive patients (33.5%) than in HPV negative patients(5.2%,P<0.01).The sensitivity of TERC gene amplification was significantly higher than that of cytological screening (81.88% vs.36.96%,P<0.01) in the differentiation of CIN Ⅱ or higher and CIN Ⅰ or lower diseases,its specificity Was hisher than high-risk HPV test (93.32% vs.33.93%,P<0.01) and positive prediction value (81.29%) was similar with cytological method (86.44%,P>0.05);but its negative prediction value (93.56%) was lower than HPV test (97.06%,P<0.05).Conclusions The positive rates of TERC gene amplification increased as cervical diseases worsened.TERC gene amplification is related to HPV infection.The gain of chromosome 3q26 in cytological specimens is an effective molecular genetic biomarker in screening of CIN Ⅱ or higher and invasive cervical cancer.

the severity of cytological and histological grade. The evidence of hTERC, with or without amplification, might serve as a prognostic indicator to measure the grade of lesion.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the prevalence of high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) and incidence of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) in female populations in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China.

METHODSTotally 1137 women aged 15-59 from Shahe Community, Nanshan District, Shenzhen were investigated for cervical cancer during an population-based epidemiological screening from November 2004 to December 2004. Visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA), colposcopy, liquid-based cytology test (LCT), and hybrid capture 2 (HC-) were performed to detect the high-risk HPV types in cervical secretions. Biopsy under colposcope was performed in women who were HPV-positive with LCT >or= atypical squamous cells of undetermined sign (ASCUS) or HPV-negative with LCT >or= low grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL), with the pathological results as the golden standards.

RESULTSThe detection rate of high-risk HPV-DNA was 14.0%. HPV detection rates in 15-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, and 50-59 age groups were 15.5%, 17.7%, 12.6%, 8.8%, 10.2%, 15.3%, and 21.0%, respectively (P < 0.05). HPV detection rates in 25-29 years group and 50-59 years group were significantly higher than those in other groups (P < 0.05) and 35-39 group had the lowest detection rate. The curve of HPV infection rates in all groups was 'V' type. The overall incidence of CIN was 4.4%. The incidences of CIN , CIN , and CIN were 3.2%, 1.0%, and 0.3%, respectively, in which the incidence of CIN was significantly higher than those of CIN and . HPV detection rates increased with cervical lesion grades, which in >or=CIN groups and normal group were 100.0% and 8.3%, respectively. No cervical cancer was identified in this research. The sensitivities of VIA, colposcopy, LCT, and HC-II for high-risk HPV screening were 35.7%, 50.0%, 92.9%,and 100%, respectively, in detecting high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL), the specificities of these four methods were 96.0%, 87.2%, 88.4%, and 86.9%, respectively. Satisfactory negative predictive values were obtained for all methods.

CONCLUSIONSHPV infection is the main risk factor for CIN. Cervical cancer among female populations in Shenzhen is still in early stages. Prevention of HPV infection and treatment of CIN are key for the prevention of cervical cancer.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia ; epidemiology ; Chi-Square Distribution ; China ; epidemiology ; DNA, Viral ; isolation & purification ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Mass Screening ; methods ; Middle Aged ; Papillomaviridae ; genetics ; Papillomavirus Infections ; epidemiology ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; Young Adult