Human papillomavirus: footprints in the population of western India

Cancer is a multi-factorial disease, with various intrinsic and environmental factors contributing to its occurrence. Human papillomavirus (HPV) has been associated with the occurrence of many cancers. India severely suffers from 3 HPV-associated cancers (cervical cancer, oral cancer, and oropharyngeal cancer). Hence, the present study aimed to evaluate the HPV burden in these 3 cancers among patients from the western region of India.

DNA was isolated from samples from 400 cervical cancer, 127 oral cancer, and 75 oropharyngeal cancer patients. Polymerase chain reaction was performed using degenerate primers for HPV infection.

Overall, HPV infection was observed in 87% of cervical cancer cases, 12.5% of oral cancer cases, and 26.7% of oropharyngeal cancer cases when analyzed with a cumulative detection method using the MY 09/11, GP 5+/6+, and CP I/II primer sets.

A significant prevalence of HPV infection was detected in all 3 cancers using the degenerate primer sets. This finding implies that testing for HPV infection using multiple primer sets is crucial for determining its actual prevalence in various malignancies.