Prevalence of human papillomavirus type 16 in persistent oral lesions arising in patients with tobacco, areca nut, and alcohol habits

Abstract

Background and purpose Human papillomavirus (HPV) has been shown to be associated with oral malignancies. The purpose of this study was to detect HPV and a high‐risk type HPV16 viral DNA in 24 cases with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and 15 cases with non‐OSCC persistent oral lesions (POL) residing in North India. The diagnosis was determined by the histopathological characteristics of the oral biopsy. Results All oral lesions were HPV‐DNA positive, and the HPV16‐positive ratios of OSCC and non‐OSCC POLs were 50% and 53%, respectively. Approximately 62% of moderately differentiated OSCC and 36% of well‐differentiated OSCC were HPV16 positive. Evaluated odds and prevalence ratios >1 indicated a higher prevalence of HPV16 infection in patients with tobacco, areca nut, and/or alcohol habits, compared with nonaddicts. The obtained P‐values were higher than 0.05, indicating that the relationship is statistically insignificant, which may be due to lower number of POL cases. This study could not conclude that HPV16 infection plays an essential role in malignant transformation of the oral mucosa, raising a need for further experimental endeavors. Conclusions This study indicates that HPV16 infection in OSCC and non‐OSCC POLs frequently occurred in people with tobacco smoking, tobacco‐areca nut chewing, and alcohol intake. These fallacious habits may increase HPV16 infection in the oral cavity.