Possibilities and prospects of targeted therapy for persistent human papillomavirus infection

Although most human papillomavirus (HPV) infections are transient and disappear within a few years of exposure, 10%–20% of infections persist latently, leading to disease progression, and ultimately various forms of invasive cancer. Despite the clinical efficacy of recently developed polyvalent prophylactic HPV vaccines, these preventive measures are not effective against pre-existing infections. In addition, given the difficulties associated with HPV, in areas with limited access to preventive vaccination, the development of effective treatments to control persistent infection remains an imperative need.

This review discusses not only the mechanisms underlying persistent HPV infection but also the prospect of immunomodulatory therapeutic vaccines and small molecule inhibitors that aim to enhance the host’s immune response against viral infection and hinder critical virus-host interactions.

The present review describes various oncogenic mechanisms of HPV infection at the level of the host cell genome. Special attention has been paid to the molecular mechanisms of carcinogenesis associated with persistent HPV infection, which leads to the formation of a risk group for the development of neoplasia among those with asymptomatic virus carriage.