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World J Exp Med. Jun 20, 2026; 16(2): 118250
Published online Jun 20, 2026. doi: 10.5493/wjem.v16.i2.118250
Published online Jun 20, 2026. doi: 10.5493/wjem.v16.i2.118250
Quantitative assessment of STAT3 and HPV16 E6 transcripts using Flow-FISH approach for early detection of progressive cervical lesions
Arun Chhokar, Udit Joshi, Tanya Tripathi, Divya Janjua, Apoorva Chaudhary, Joni Yadav, Nikita Aggarwal, Alok C Bharti, Department of Zoology, University of Delhi, Delhi 110007, India
Arun Chhokar, Department of Zoology, Deshbandhu College, University of Delhi, New Delhi 110019, Delhi, India
Bindiya Gupta, Madeeha Mudassir, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University College of Medical Sciences and Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, New Delhi 110095, Delhi, India
Vinita K Jaggi, Department of Gynaecological Oncology, Delhi State Canc Inst, Delhi 110095, India
Co-first authors: Arun Chhokar and Udit Joshi.
Author contributions: Chhokar A and Joshi U performed the research, curated the data, conducted the formal analysis, they contributed equally to this article, they are the co-first authors of this manuscript; Chhokar A, Joshi U, Tripathi T wrote the first draft of the manuscript; Tripathi T, Mudassir M, Janjua D, and Chaudhary A contributed to the investigation and methodology; Gupta B and Jaggi VK supervised the study and validated the data; Bharti AC conceptualized and designed the research study, supervised and administered the project, validated the data, and provided the necessary resources; and all authors critically reviewed the manuscript and approved the final version prior to submission.
Supported by Indian Council of Medical Research, No. 5/13/4/ACB/ICRC/2020/NCD-III and No. SG/Dev. Res/05750/2025-2028 (261835); Indian Council of Medical Research AdHOC, No. 2021-10573/GENOMIC/ADHOC-BMS and No. IG/Dev.Res/00265/2029-2025 (256963); Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy, Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India, No. 17-30/2023-24/CCRH/Tech./Coll./DO-Cervical Cancer Phase-II/898; Institution of Eminence, University of Delhi, No. /IoE/2025-26/12/FRP; ANRF, No. ANRF/PAIR/2025/000003/PAIR-B and No. 73(CSIR-UGC NET JUNE 2017); University Grants Commission, No. 764/(CSIR-UGC NET JUNE 2019); and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, No. 09/0045/(11635)/2021-EMR-1, No. 09/0045(12901)/2022-EMR-1, No. 09/045(1629)/2019-EMR-I and No. 09/045(1622)/2018-EMR-I.
Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Department of Zoology, University of Delhi, approval No. IHEC/DU/NP-1/2020.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: All the data sets used in the present study have been provided in Supplementary material and there is no additional data to disclose.
Corresponding author: Alok C Bharti, PhD, Professor, Department of Zoology, University of Delhi, Gate No. 3 Chaatra Marg, University of Delhi North Campus, Delhi 110007, India.
Received: December 28, 2025
Revised: January 28, 2026
Accepted: March 2, 2026
Published online: June 20, 2026
Processing time: 167 Days and 17.8 Hours
Revised: January 28, 2026
Accepted: March 2, 2026
Published online: June 20, 2026
Processing time: 167 Days and 17.8 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: This study evaluates the feasibility of translating a microscopy-optimized fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) assay for signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 and human papillomavirus (HPV) 16 E6 transcripts into a flow cytometry-based FISH (Flow-FISH). While microscopy-based FISH reliably detected transcripts in cervical cancer cell lines, pre-published probes demonstrated limited sensitivity and specificity in Flow-FISH, particularly for HPV16 E6. These findings highlight critical technical bottlenecks in adapting slide-based FISH assays to flow-cytometry and underscore the need for platform-specific probe design and assay re-optimization before Flow-FISH can be applied as a scalable and objective screening tool for HPV-associated cervical cancer.