Importance of HPV Typing in Predicting Response to Definitive Chemoradiation in Patients with Locally Advanced Cervical Cancer

Intorduction. HPV infection stimulates a local immune response, because HPV positivity in cervical cancer places these tumors in a prognostically better group in terms of response to radiotherapy (RT). However, the response to RT treatment in locally advanced cervical cancer depending on the presence of a certain subtype of the HPV virus has been very little investigated in previous research. Taking into account the high incidence rate of cervical cancer in developing countries, where the disease is most often diagnosed at a locally advanced stage, the aim of this review of the available literature was to analyse predictive potential of HPV typing in terms of the response to the RT with/without chemopotentiation as a standard treatment approach. Method. A review of studies dealing with the analysis of the predictive significance of HPV typing in locally advanced cervical cancer patients treated with definitive RT with or without chemopotentiation, from 2000 to 2024, was conducted. Results. Six clinical studies were identified that met the search criteria. The most frequently analyzed subtypes were HPV 16,18,33 and 52. In five studies the HPV 16 subtype was identified in more radioresistant cervical cancers. Conclusion: there is an exceptional clinical importance of HPV typing in order to create an individual treatment strategy, especially in the era of immunotherapy given concurrently with definitive RT. It is also necessary to conduct clinical studies with a large number of patients and consider what the treatment outcomes are depending on the applied RT technique, dose and fractionation regime.