Thomas C. Wright, M.D.

Our group is interested in the diagnosis and management of cervical disease with a particular interest in HIV-infected women. A number of large scale studies are underway to look at 1) the sensitivity and specificity of different methods of detecting cervical cancer and its precursors 2) the longterm outcome of cervical cancer precursors in HIV-infected women, and 3) shedding of HIV into genital tract secretions. Currently the laboratory is using a variety of methods to detect HPV in cervicovaginal secretions and is correlating the presence of specific types of HPV with the presence or absence of cervical disease. In addition we are analyzing the role of p53 polymorphisms in the susceptibility to HPV-induced neoplasia.

Selected Publications:

• Ramanujam, N., Mitchell, M.F., Mahadevan, A., Thomsen, S.L., Malpica, A., Wright, T., Atkinson, N., and Kortum-Richards, R. Spectroscopic diagnosis of cervical squamous intraepithelialal neoplasia in vivo using laser-induced fluorescence spectra at multiple excitation wavelengths. Lasers Surg. Med. 19: 63-74 (1996).

• Mitchell, M.F., Tortolero-Luna, G., Wright, T.C., Sarkar, A., Richards-Kortum, R., Hong, W.K., and Schottenfeld, D. Cervical human papillomavirus infection and intraepithelial neoplasia. J. Natl. Cancer Inst. 21: 17-26 (1996).

• Chiasson, M.A., Ellerbrock, T.V., Bush, T.J., Sun, X.W., and Wright, T.C. Increased prevalence of vulvovaginal condyloma and vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia in women infected with the human immunodeficiency virus. Obst. Gynecol. 88: 690-694 (1997).

• Sun, X.W., Kuhn, L., Ellerbrock, T.V., Chiasson, M.A., and Wright, T.C. Human papillomavirus infection in HIV-seropositive women: natural history and variability of detection. New Eng. J. Med. 337: 1343-1349 (1997).

• Wright, T.C., Lorincz, A.T., Ferris, D.G., Richart, R.M., Ferenczy, A.F., Mielzynska, I., and Borgata, L. Reflex HPV DNA testing in women with abnormal Papanicolaou smears. Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol. 178: 962-966 (1998).