Evaluation of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Patients Using Polymerase Chain Reaction Regarding the Prevalence of Human Papillomavirus Types 16 and 18

TL;DR

This study used PCR to assess the presence of HPV 16 and 18 in oral squamous cell carcinoma patients and found higher prevalence in cancer cases compared to controls, though the difference was not statistically significant.

Contribution

The study contributes new empirical data on HPV 16 and 18 prevalence in OSCC using PCR, comparing cancer patients with age-matched controls.

Findings

22 out of 40 OSCC cases were positive for HPV-DNA, compared to 12 out of 40 controls.

HPV 16 was detected in 12 OSCC cases and 6 controls, while HPV 18 was found in 6 OSCC cases and 2 controls.

Despite higher prevalence in OSCC cases, the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.662).

Abstract

Background: Epstein-Barr virus, human papillomavirus (HPV), and herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) are examples of viruses that have been associated with the development of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). These viruses can infect various epithelial tissues in the human body. The use of incredibly accurate cellular biology techniques, such as the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which permits the rapid identification of viruses following infection, has increased. The parameters of human head and neck oncology have been widened.

Aim: In this study, using the PCR, the presence of HPV variants such as HPV 18 and HPV 16 in patients with OSCC was assessed.

Materials and methods: Tissue specimens were obtained from clinically presumed OSCC individuals taken as cases, and tissues from the retromolar region were obtained from people who experienced an operation for partially and completely impacted tooth and taken as controls. The study included 80 samples divided into two separate categories: case category (n = 40) = OSCC-diagnosed individuals; control category (n = 40) = controls with a comparable age. For verification of the diagnosis, a specimen of the tissue has been processed and sections have been stained and inspected for standard hematoxylin and eosin stain. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) was extracted from the leftover histopathologically verified tissue specimens and then exposed to PCR for the assessment of HPV infiltration.

Results: It was observed in this research that 22 cases out of 40 cases of OSCC were found positive for HPV-DNA. While 12 out of 40 age-matched healthy controls were found positive for HPV-DNA. Out of 40 cases of OSCC, 12 cases were found positive for HPV 16. While six out of 40 age-matched healthy controls were found positive for HPV 16. Six cases out of 40 cases of OSCC were found positive for HPV 16. While two out of 40 age-matched healthy controls were found positive for HPV 18. Four cases out of 40 cases of OSCC were found positive for HPV 16. While four out of 40 age-matched healthy controls were found positive for HPV 16 and HPV 18. On carrying out statistical analysis, the variation between the two categories was non-meaningful statistically (p = 0.662). However, the prevalence was greater in the case (OSCC) subgroup.

Conclusion: When evaluated against controls in the current investigation, OSCC cases had a greater level of HPV expression and a greater proportion of HPV 16 positives. However, there was no statistically noteworthy change.