Detection of human papillomaviruses of high oncogenic potential in oral squamous cell carcinoma in a Venezuelan population

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this work was to detect and typify human papillomaviruses (HPV) in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) in a Venezuelan population. MATERIAL(S) AND METHODS: Eighteen tissue samples were obtained from biopsies, formalin-fixed, and paraffin-embedded; 16 were diagnosed as SCC. We isolated DNA from paraffin-embedded tissue; two to three sections of 5 microm were obtained and resuspended in digestion buffer and proteinase K. Five microliters of the aqueous phase was used for polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The PCR for HPV amplification was carried out with consensus primers for L1 region (MY09 and MY11) and beta-globin gene was used as internal control. The viral types were determined by molecular hybridization with a mix of probes for high/intermediate and low HPV oncogenic risk types. RESULTS: The HPV-DNA was detected in 50% (eight of 16) of the SCC cases. Of these HPV-DNA-positive samples, 68% were histopathologically diagnosed as moderately differentiated SCC. The most common anatomical location was the alveolar ridge mucosa. All positive biopsies contained high oncogenic HPV types. CONCLUSIONS: We observed a high prevalence of HPV infection of high oncogenic potential types in patients with SCC in our studied group. The moderately differentiated SCCs were more associated to HPV infection. These differences could be influenced by nutritional, environmental and genetical factors in our population but further studies should be carried out to determine these aspects.