A study to assess expression of human papillomavirus types 16 and 18 in oral squamous cell carcinoma using polymerase chain reaction

Abstract

Objective: The diverse subset of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) with different clinical appearance and outcome, independent of traditional risk factors has led to increasing attention in human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. Materials and Methods: The investigation followed a case–control design. Information pertaining to the subjects was retrieved from hospital records. Twenty cases of OSCC and twenty age-matched controls were analyzed to ascertain the prevalence of HPV types 16 and 18. DNA was extracted from the blocks of formalin-fixed paraffin embedded tissues, and HPV-DNA was amplified using HPV type-specific primers by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. Data analysis was carried out using Chi-square test. Results: HPV-DNA was detected in 55% of cases (11/20; HPV 16 = 6, HPV 18 = 3 and HPV 16 and 18 = 2) and 30% of controls (6/20; HPV 16 = 3, HPV 18 = 1 and HPV 16 and 18 = 2) indicating higher percentage of HPV presence among OSCC cases. No significant association was found between the presence of HPV and gender, age, site and grade of differentiation of OSCC. Conclusion: Although the presence of HPV was higher in cases compared to controls, none of these differences were statistically significant. HPV 16 and 18 are commonly found in normal oral mucosa mandating the need for distinguishing clinical, subclinical and latent HPV infections.

Prevalence of human papillomavirus in head and neck cancer patients in India: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Multiple studies were conducted in South India [ 43 , 44 ], Haryana [ 45 – 47 ], and Tamil Nadu [ 48 , 49 ]. Single studies were conducted in several other locations: Andhra Pradesh [ 50 ], Kerala [ 51 ], Kolkata [ 52 ], Mumbai [ 53 , 54 ], Karnataka [ 55 , 56 ], Chandigarh [ 57 , 58 ], and Assam [ 59 , 60 ]. Additionally, one study was a multi-regional study encompassing several states [ 42 ].…”

“…of Head and neck cancer patients No. of patients with HPV State/region Diagnostic method Bahl 2014 [ 31 ] Prospective study 55 (Median) 86 OSCC 105 24 New Delhi Genotyping Balaram 1995 [ 51 ] Cross sectional study NA 54.94 Oral cavity cancer 91 67 Kerala PCR Barwad 2011 [ 57 ] Prospective study NA 87.38 Head and neck cancer 111 36 Chandigarh PCR Chowdary 2018 [ 50 ] Case-control study NA 55 Head and neck cancer 20 11 Andhra Pradesh PCR Costa 1998 [ 53 ] NA 50 (median) 72.00 Oral cavity cancer 100 15 Mumbai PCR Elango 2011 [ 43 ] Cross sectional study 55.00 68.33 Oral or Tongue cancer 60 29 South India …”