Detection of Human Papillomavirus in Osophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma samples in Mazandaran Province, Iran

Human papillomavirus (HPV) has been associated with several disorders of the genital tract, skin and esophagus squamous cell carcinoma. The aims of the present study were to evaluate the prevalence of HPV infection in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in Mazandaran province, northern Iran, to identify the prevalence of HPVs.Human papillomavirus (HPV) has been associated with several disorders of the genital tract, skin and esophagus squamous cell carcinoma. The aims of the present study were to evaluate the prevalence of HPV infection in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in Mazandaran province, northern Iran, to identify the prevalence of HPVs.We examined 170 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded samples from esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients. All subjects live in Mazandaran province, a region with high incidence rate of esophageal cancer and have become known as the “Asian Esophageal Cancer Belt”. Samples were tested for HPV-DNA by MY09/11 and Gp5+/6+ general primers using nested PCR. Of the 170 ESCC samples, 86 (50.6%) were male and 84 (49.4%) were female. The mean age of the subjects was 66.5±11.1 and ranged from 35 to 91 years. Totally, HPV-DNA was detected in 62 (36.5%) of the esophageal squamous cell carcinoma samples by HPV L1 consensus primers. Considering the location of esophagus specimens, of 62 positive samples, 16 (25.8%) samples were in the upper third, 28 (45.2%) in the middle third, and 18(29.0%) in the lower third. The current study showed a relatively substantial prevalence of HPV infection in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma samples in Mazandaran province.