Oral Human Papillomavirus: a multisite infection

The Human Papillomavirus (HPV) has different strategies for persist in the cells. This characteristic has led us to consider the presence of the virus in tissues of the oral cavity that had no clinical signs of infection. The aim of this study was to detect the presence of DNA-HPV at multiple sites of the oral cavity.

A case-control study was designed: Oral Squamous Carcinoma Group (OSCG), healthy n=72 and Control Group (CG), n=72, healthy volunteers paired by sex and age with OSCG. Four samples were taken from OSCG: saliva, biopsy, brush scraping of lesion and contralateral healthy side. In CG a saliva sample and a scratch of the posterior border of tongue were collected. HPV was detected by PCR using Bioneer Accuprep genomic DNA Extraction kit, and consensus primers MY09 and MY11. Chi square test was applied.

432 samples were obtained from 144 individuals. DNA-HPV was detected in 30 (42%) of OSCG subjects and 3(4%) of CG. Two or more positive samples were obtained in 67% of the OSCG, 67% in saliva and 60% in biopsy; in CG 100% of the individuals were positive in the two samples.

HPV is frequently present in oral cavity as a multifocal infection, even without the presence of clinical lesions.