[Study of HPV in oral squamous cell carcinoma]

In order to demonstrate the presence of human papillomavirus (HPV) in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), we detected HPV 16 and 18 type DNA in OSCC and normal mucosa (NOM) by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), then analysed the PCR products using southern blot hybridization. The study shows that the positive rates of HPV DNA were 47.8% (11/23) in OSCC, including HPV16 in 6 samples, HPV18 in 3 samples and 16, 18 co-infection in 2 samples. In contrast, HPV16 DNA were found to be 20% (2/10) in NOM. The results suggest that HPV may play a role in carcinogenesis of OSCC.