HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUS DNA IN ORAL SQUAMOUS-CELL CARCINOMAS AND NORMAL MUCOSA

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infections in oral carcinomas and normal or al mucosa were studied by consensus primer screening and typing for HP V types 6/11, 16 and 18 DNA. After polymerase chain reaction (PCR) the DNA species of interest were identified by Southern blot hybridizatio n with digoxigenin-labeled oligonucleotide probes. Frozen tissue and s crapings were equally suitable for HPV testing and yielded high HPV de tection rates in carcinomas. By comparison, HPV analysis of paraffin-e mbedded material was much less efficient. HPV were demonstrated in 61. 5% (16/26) of oral squamous cell carcinomas, high risk HPV 16 and 18 b eing the preferential types. The frequency of HPV detection in non-neo plastic mucosa of tumor patients decreased clearly with increasing dis tance from the tumor (range 26.9-3.8%) suggesting focal HPV infections . In contrast, normal buccal mucosa of a group of healthy volunteers c ontained HPV DNA only in 1% (1/97).