Dr. Hashemi Sadraei Discusses Biomarkers in HPV-Induced Tumors

Nooshin Hashemi Sadraei, MD, assistant professor of medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Cincinnati, discusses biomarkers in HPV-induced tumors, including cervical, anal, and oropharyngeal cancers.

Hashemi Sadraei discusses a recent study that examined 201 patients with anal cancer, 321 patients with cervical cancer, and 358 patients with oropharyngeal cancer. Researchers sought to determine if, since the tumor ideology of these three groups are similar, if molecular patterns exist among them. Next-generation sequencing, immunohistochemistry, and in situ hybridization were used to compare the presence of mutations, amplification, and protein expression among the three tumor types.

The study showed that there are significant similarities, Hashemi Sadraei says. Neither mutations or protein expressions were found to be statistically different among the three tumors. Moreover, similar levels of PD-1/PD-L1 expression were found. Due to these findings, researchers may be able to explore new therapeutic options that could elicit responses in all three subgroups, Hashemi Sadraei says.