Association between mitochondrial DNA copy number and high viral load in women with high-risk human papillomavirus

Abstract

The infection that most often leads to cervical cancer is human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. A sign that the HPV infection might develop into cancer is mitochondrial dysfunction and DNA damage. Increased mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtCN) has been associated with cervical neoplasm as a compensatory mechanism for mitochondrial dysfunction