Current and Future Directions in the Prevention and Treatment of HPV-Related Diseases

A special issue of Healthcare (ISSN 2227-9032).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2025) | Viewed by 1717

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Medicine, Surgery, and Pharmacy, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Interests: HPV epidemiology; diagnosis of HPV-related cancers; prevention; public health
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Guest Editor Assistant
Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Interests: HPV; cervical cancer; HPV diagnosis; biomarkers

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Guest Editor
Department of Medicine, Surgery, and Pharmacy, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Interests: biostatistics; clinical epidemiology; public health; respiratory diseases; global health

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection represents one of the major causes of infection-related cancer both in women and men. HPV infection is known as a first cause in cervical cancer, and numerous studies have extended the role of infection to anogenital and oropharyngeal cancers, involving over 63,000 cases, worldwide. The high burden of HPV-related diseases highlights the need to implement preventive and diagnostic measures. Primary and secondary prevention strategies, such as HPV vaccination and screening, have been introduced in recent decades, leading to important reductions in cervical cancer cases and mortality. However, effective measures are scant for other HPV-related diseases. In addition, scientific evidence underscores the need for new biomarkers useful as predictors in the progression of cervical and non-cervical lesions.

On this basis, we are pleased to invite you to submit your research work and reviews that will be supportive in the development of new methodologies for diagnosis and prevention of HPV-associated diseases. Meta-analysis and systematic reviews of existing effective preventive tools, along with clinical trials and observational studies, are welcome. We will appreciate any contributions that address relevant issues in the field of prevention, early detection, screening, and treatment of HPV infections.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Andrea Piana
Dr. Narcisa Muresu
Dr. Mariangela Valentina Puci
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • human papillomavirus (HPV)
  • HPV-screening
  • HPV vaccination
  • methylation
  • self-sampling collection
  • cervical cancer

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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13 pages, 2805 KiB  
Systematic Review
Diagnostic Performance of Host and Viral DNA Methylation Analysis in the Identification of Anal Intraepithelial Neoplasia and Cancer: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
by Narcisa Muresu, Mariangela Valentina Puci, Giovanni Sotgiu, Illari Sechi, Andrea Cossu, Manuela Usai and Andrea Fausto Piana
Healthcare 2024, 12(19), 1951; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12191951 - 30 Sep 2024
Viewed by 1187
Abstract
Introduction: DNA methylation-based biomarkers have been investigated as useful tools in the carcinogenesis process, including the triage of HPV-associated cancers. In this context, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis focused on evaluating the changes in the level of DNA methylation in cases [...] Read more.
Introduction: DNA methylation-based biomarkers have been investigated as useful tools in the carcinogenesis process, including the triage of HPV-associated cancers. In this context, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis focused on evaluating the changes in the level of DNA methylation in cases of pre-cancerous (i.e., anal intraepithelial neoplasia, AIN-1, -2., -3) and cancerous (i.e., squamous cell carcinoma, SCC) anal lesions. Methods: A research in the PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases was carried out, following the PRISMA 2020 protocol, using the following keywords: “anal cancer”, “anal intraepithelial neoplasia”, “methylation”, and “epigenetic”. All observational studies that reported the level of DNA methylation by grade of anal lesions and for different target genes were included. The QUADAS-2 tool was used to assess the studies’ quality, whereas pooled prevalence, sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) were employed to verify the accuracy of the test in the detection of high-grade lesions. Results: Eight studies met the inclusion criteria, involving a total of 1555 clinical samples. The prevalence of methylation-positive samples by histological grading was 27%, 45%, 54%, and 98% for AIN1, AIN2, AIN3, and SCC, respectively. Similar results were observed for the DOR, with higher ORs in more severe lesions. The pooled AUC (95%CI) for the diagnosis of ≥AIN2 was 0.68 (0.63–0.73). Conclusions: The present review and meta-analysis support the introduction of DNA methylation-based biomarkers in the triage of subjects with low-grade anal lesions and in the monitoring of treatment outcomes. Standardized protocols and a prospective study design are needed to implement methylation tests in clinical practice. Full article
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