USING POLYMERASE CHAIN-REACTION TO HUMAN-PAPILLOMAVIRUS IN ORAL AND PHARYNGOLARYNGEAL CARCINOMAS

Purpose: Increasingly, evidence has shown that human papillomavirus (H PV) plays a role in the induction of certain carcinomas. The presence of HPV sequences in 56 previously untreated oral and pharyngolaryngeal carcinomas was examined by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Mater ials and Methods: After DNA extraction, :samples underwent 40 replicat ion cycles with specific oligonucleotide primers corresponding to sequ ences from the E6 open-reading frame of HPV-6b, HPV-16, and HPV-18. To determine the E6 genomic integration, positive samples were processed with specific primers for the corresponding HPV L1 genes. Genomic HPV DNA cloned into PER 322 was used as positive control. Results: HPV E6 DNA of the 6b and 16 types was detected in 14 patients (25%). The L1 gene was not present. Conclusion: Detected HPV E6 DNA might be integra ted into the cell genome in the positive cases as indicated by the abs ence of the L1 gene-coding for the viral capside. Histological and cli nical parameters, such as tumor location: degree of differentiation, s tage, recurrence, and survival rates, were unrelated to the presence o i HPV. Copyright (C) 1997 by W.B. Saunders Company.