Detection of human papillomavirus types 16 and 18 in oral squamous cell carcinoma samples in Malaysia

Infection of the oral cavity with high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) has been implicated as one of the risk factors for the development of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Among the high-risk HPV types, HPV 16 and 18 are the most common infective agents in oral cancers. This study aimed to compare the presence of high-risk HPV in genetic materials obtained from saliva, blood and tissues of OSCC patients in Malaysia. The genomic DNA was extracted from saliva (n=13), blood (n=59) and tissue (n=63) and subjected to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of human beta globin gene to confirm the presence and integrity of DNA. Positive amplification was then screened for high-risk HPV by nested PCR using MY11/09 and GP5+/6+ consensus primers, followed by a further confirmation by DNA sequencing of the positive samples. As a result, two saliva samples (2/13; 15.4%) were found to harbour HPV 16 and one tissue sample (1/63; 1.6%) was shown to be positive for HPV 18. However, none of the blood samples were positive for high-risk HPV. Thus, HPV is more likely to be found in the saliva of OSCC patients as compared to blood and tissue samples. The detection of high-risk HPV in OSCC patients is useful in deciding how to manage the patient as HPV-associated OSCC has better prognosis.