Association of viral load with HPV16 positive cervical cancer pathogenesis: causal relevance in isolates harboring intact viral E2 gene.

We tested the hypothesis that cervical cancers (CaCx) harbor high HPV16 viral load compared to controls and this is influenced by E2 status and age of subjects. Viral load (natural log transformed values) per 100ng genomic DNA was estimated (152 cases and 87 controls) by Taqman assay. Median viral load was significantly higher (Mann-Whitney U test) among cases (17.21) compared to controls (9.86), irrespective of E2 status or upon considering E2 status as a covariate in logistic regression model (p<0.001). Viral load of E2 intact cases (17.80) was significantly higher (p<0.001) compared to those with disrupted E2 (9.78). At equivalent probability of being a case, viral load was higher among individuals (i) of lower age, irrespective of E2 status, and (ii) with intact E2 but of similar age as those with disrupted E2. Thus viral load in association with E2 status and/or age might be of causal relevance in CaCx pathogenesis.