Human papilloma virus type 16 E6 gene expression in oral exophytic epithelial lesions as detected by in situ rtPCR

We adopted an in situ reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction method of detecting and determining the frequency of early (E6) gene expression of human papilloma virus type 16 at the individual cell level in a sample of oral exophytic lesions with various degrees of epithelial hyperplasia and dysplasia in immunosuppressed and immunocompetent patients.

The significance of differences between the study groups was determined by Mantel-Haenszel chi-square analysis and calculation of odds ratios, accounting for immunosuppression and degree of dysplasia, respectively.

Grouped together, the lesions of dysplasia (mild to severe) and squamous cell carcinoma were found to be 16 times more likely to express human papilloma virus E6 mRNA than the benign lesions (P = .0013); in the lesions of immunosuppressed patients, human papilloma virus 16 E6 was roughly 10 times more likely to be expressed than in those of the immunocompetent patients (P = .0008, accounting for dysplasia).

Our data indicate that human papilloma virus 16 E6 gene expression, and perhaps integration of the virus in the host genome, might play a role in the development of oral neoplasia in association with immunosuppression.