Human papilloma virus and oral infections: an update

Human papilloma virus (HPV) is one of the most common virus groups affecting the skin and mucosal areas of the body in the world today. It is also a known fact that HPV causes many lesions in the oral cavity. The most common conditions induced by oral HPV infection are usually benign-like oral papillomas, oral condylomas, and focal epithelial hyperplasia. Oral HPV infection has been found to be associated with some cases of oropharyngeal cancer, but it is not the main risk factor for this kind of cancer. HPV is been proved to be the causative agent in causation of cervical cancers without doubt, but its role as a etiologic agent in causing oral cancers needs to be evaluated and studied more to come into any conclusion. We have used review papers, case reports, cohort studies, case control studies, and various internet sources published from 1960 to 2011 to prepare this review of literature.