PREVALENCE OF HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUS IN MIDDLE-EAR CARCINOMA-ASSOCIATEDWITH CHRONIC OTITIS-MEDIA

Squamous cell carcinoma of the middle ear (MESCC) is an uncommon tumor aad is associated with a history of long-term chronic otitis media (C OM) in most cases. Although the human papillomaviruses (HPVs) have bee n implicated in many human neoplasms, its role in the pathogenesis of MESCC has not been studied, Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using cons ensus primers for the detection of HPV types 6, II, IG, 18, 31, 33, 52 b, and 58 was applied in screening fourteen cases of MESCC from archiv al material, Further subtyping was performed by restriction enzyme dig estion of PCR products and by in situ hybridization method on tissue s ections, Of the fourteen cases of MESCC, eleven were found to have HPV DNA, HPV-16 was detected in all positive cases. Five cases revealed b oth HPV-16 and -18, A history of long-term COM (>3 years) was found in thirteen of the cases, This is the first report to localize HPV-16/18 in MESCC on both the tissue level and the molecular level, The high p revalence of HPV in COM-associated MESCC therefore Provides a good mod el to explain the pathogenesis of chronic-inflammation-related human m alignancies.