HPVs may be involved in the development or progression of not only OSCC but also of potentially malignant oral lesions.

We tested 65, 44, and 116 patients with oral squamous cell cancer (OSCC), oral leukoplakia (OL), and oral lichen planus (OLP) against 68 age‐matched controls for the presence of Epstein–Barr virus (EBV). Apparently healthy mucosa was simultaneously sampled and examined in all patients. Paraffin‐embedded tissue sections of all EBV‐positive patients with OSCC were examined for latent membrane protein‐1 (LMP‐1) expression (demonstrable in most EBV‐associated malignancies) using immunohistochemistry. The prevalence of EBV in the controls and in OSCC, OL, and OLP lesions was 19.1%, 73.8%, 29.5%, and 46.6%, respectively, and 66.2%, 22.7%, and 31.9% in the healthy mucosa of patients, respectively. The prevalence of EBV in OSCC patients was significantly higher than in controls or in respective samples of the other two patient groups both in the lesion and in the healthy mucosa. Comparisons including only patients with EBV‐negative lesions yielded similar results. Lesions of patients with OLP, but not of patients with OL, differed significantly from controls in EBV prevalence. In OSCC, LMP‐1 expression was not detected, and EBV carriage was not significantly associated with any risk factors and did not influence the outcome. Although a high prevalence of EBV was found in OSCC, comparable carriage rates on healthy mucosa of patients indicated that an aetiological role of EBV is unlikely.

In a previous pilot study, a significantly poorer outcome of laryngeal cancer was found in patients co-infected with human papillomavirus (HPV) and genogroup 1 torque tenovirus (TTV). The present study aimed to collect data on the overall prevalence of TTVs on the prevalence of genogroup 1 TTV in two other malignancies associated with HPV, oral squamous cell cancer and cervical cancer, and in oral and cervical premalignant lesions (oral lichen planus, oral leukoplakia, cervical atypia). Oral samples from all patients were accompanied with a sample from the healthy mucosa. The overall prevalence of TTV was significantly higher both in oral squamous cell cancer and cervical cancer compared with other patient groups or with the respective controls. The prevalence of genogroup 1 TTV was significantly higher in lesions of oral squamous cell cancer and oral lichen planus, but not in lesions of oral leukoplakia (24.6%, 10.1%, and 4.5%, respectively), compared with the prevalence in the oral cavity of controls (1.4%). Co-infection rates with genogroup 1 TTV and HPV were significantly higher in oral squamous cell cancer than in controls, oral lichen planus or oral leukoplakia patients (12.3%, 0.0%, 6.7%, and 4.5%, respectively). The prevalence of genogroup 1 TTV in all cervical samples were comparable. These data suggest that genogroup 1 TTV may be associated specifically with some head and neck mucosal disorders, but disproves a (co)carcinogenic role in oral cancer or cervical cancer as well as an association with HPV or with malignancies associated with HPV.

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