Case-control study in a subtropical Australian population to assess the relation between non-melanoma skin cancer and epidermodysplasia verruciformishuman papillomavirus DNA in plucked eyebrow hairs

Epidermodysplasia verruciformis human papillomavirus (EV-HPV) DNA has been demonstrated in malignant and benign skin lesions and in hairs plucked from renal transplant recipients and immunocompetent patients. We investigated the association between EV-HPV DNA in hairs plucked from eyebrows and the o ccurrence of non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) in a community-based study. Wi thin a cohort of residents of a Queensland township (Nambour), nested case- control studies of recently developed NMSC (64 cases), basal-cell carcinoma (BCC) (51 cases) and squamous-cell carcinoma (SCC) (25 cases) were conduct ed. EV-HPV DNA in hair and a small number of available tumour samples was d etected using a nested PCR specific for EV-HPV types, EV-HPV DNA was detect ed in hairs from 94 of 143 individuals (66%), and 36 (39%) of the samples c ontained 2 or more different: EV-HPV types. Only known or putatively new EV -HPV types were detectable after sequencing 93 samples. EV-HPV status agree d for 12 of 20 subjects who had both hair and skin tumour samples available , In 4 of 5 pairs of positive samples, the same EV-HPV type was found. Ther e were non-significant negative associations between EV-HPV and NMSC (OR 0. 77, 95% CI 0.34-1.8) and BCC (OR 0.58, 95% CI 0.23-1.5) but a non-significa nt positive association with SCC (OR 2.00, 95% CI 0.50-8.0), Int. J, Cancer 86:118-121, 2000. (C) 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.