Utility of serum NAMPT concentrations in clinical management of HPV-infected patients

The expression of nicotinamide-phosphoribosyl transferase (NAMPT) was demonstrated to increase in various dysplastic and malignant conditions, usually consistent with the severity of the disease. This study was conducted to assess the utility of extracellular NAMPT (eNAMPT) in the management of cervical dysplasia in human papillomavirus (HPV) infected women. Circulating eNAMPT concentrations in high-risk HPV-infected women who were diagnosed with high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL) or invasive cancer (cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 2+ (CIN2+) lesions) and who were revealed to have no cervical dysplasia or low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL) were evaluated and compared. One hundred fifty nine high-risk HPV-infected patients for cervical biopsies under colposcopy guidance between February 2022 and February 2023 were included in this case-control study. Study group composed of consecutively enrolled 84 women with histological diagnosis of HSIL or cervical cancer (CIN2+ lesions) and control group composed of consecutively enrolled 75 women with LSIL or normal cervical biopsies. Circulating eNAMPT concentrations of cases with CIN2+ lesions and cases with LSIL or normal cervical biopsies were compared. No significant difference was found between median peripheral venous blood eNAMPT concentration of cases with histologic diagnosis of CIN2+ lesions and cases with LSIL or normal cervical biopsies (9.4 ng/mL (0.19-192) vs 8.9 ng/mL (0.19-176.9); p = 0.07, respectively). Multivariate linear regression analysis revealed no independent predictor of circulating eNAMPT concentrations among possible predictor variables. In conclusion, circulating eNAMPT concentrations of cases with CIN2+ lesions and cases with LSIL or normal cervical biopsies were found to be similar. Further research that evaluates cervical fluid eNAMPT concentrations might define novel noninvasive tools in cervical dysplasia management.