Related Experiment Video For Barrett’s esophagus
Updated: Mar 25, 2026
RNAscope for In situ Detection of Transcriptionally Active Human Papillomavirus in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Published on: March 11, 2014
Human papillomavirus not detected in esophageal adenocarcinoma tumor specimens
Annika Antonsson1, Lani Knight1, David C Whiteman1
1Department of Population Health, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Australia.
Background:
Human papillomavirus (HPV) has been implicated as playing a causal role in Barrett's esophagus, the metaplastic precursor to esophageal adenocarcinomas (EAC) and gastro-esophageal junction adenocarcinomas (GEJACs). We evaluated the presence of HPV DNA in EACs and GEJACs.
Study Design:
We analyzed 241 histologically confirmed archived EAC and GEJAC tissue specimens from a population-based study in Australia. Samples were tested by PCR for DNA quality (β-globin) and for the presence of HPV DNA.
Results:
DNA yield and quality was satisfactory in 97% (233/241; 201 EAC, 32 GEJAC). Each sample was tested three times for HPV DNA, but none of the 233 tumor specimens tested positive.
Conclusions:
We found no evidence of HPV DNA in esophageal adenocarcinoma tumor cells. HPV is unlikely to cause EAC or GEJAC.
