Analysis of ras point mutations and human papillomavirus 16 and 18 in cervical carcinomata and their metastases.

Paraffin-wax-embedded samples of normal cervical tissue and of primary cervical carcinomata and nodal metastases were obtained from each of 15 patients. They were analyzed for the presence of ras point mutations and human papillomavirus (HPV) types 16 and 18 using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and hybridization to oligomer probes. Only 1 patient was found to have a ras mutation: a codon 13 mutation of Ki-ras which was present in only two lymph node metastases, but not in the primary tumor or in a third metastasis. These results suggest that ras point mutation is not a common factor in the development of primary or metastatic cervical cancer. HPV 16 was detected in 7 of the 15 patients and was present in both primary and metastatic tumors in 6 of these 7 cases. HPV 18 was not detected in any of the 15 patients. These results do not suggest a role for HPVs 16 and 18 in producing metastatic behavior.