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J Clin Pathol 65:283-286 doi:10.1136/jclinpath-2011-200454
  • Short report

Human papillomavirus detection in dysplastic and malignant oral verrucous lesions

  1. Selvam Thavaraj1
  1. 1Oral Pathology, Department of Clinical and Diagnostic Sciences, King's College London Dental Institute, London, UK
  2. 2Oral Pathology, Department of Dentistry, Faculty of Health Science, University of Brasilia, Brasilia, Brazil
  3. 3Department of Infection, Virology Section, GSTS Pathology, St Thomas' Hospital, London, UK
  4. 4St John's Institute of Dermatology, GSTS Pathology, St Thomas' Hospital, London, UK
  1. Correspondence to Dr Selvam Thavaraj, Oral Pathology, Floor 28, Tower Wing, King's College London Dental Institute, Great Maze Pond, London SE1 9RT, UK; selvam.thavaraj{at}kcl.ac.uk

  1. Contributors All authors contributed significantly to the manuscript.

  • Accepted 16 November 2011
  • Published Online First 15 December 2011

Abstract

The role of human papillomaviruses (HPV) in dysplastic and malignant oral verrucous lesions is controversial since there is a wide range in the incidence of virus detection. This study used a multi-tiered method of HPV detection using DNA in-situ hybridisation (ISH) for low- and high-risk subtypes, consensus PCR, and HPV genotype analysis in archival tissue from 20 cases of dysplastic and malignant oral verrucous lesions. The biological significance of HPV DNA detection was assessed by p16 immunohistochemistry (IHC). While 1/7 carcinomas and 5/13 dysplasias contained HPV DNA by consensus PCR and genotype analysis, all specimens were negative for low- and high-risk HPV ISH and negative for p16 IHC. Results show that although high-risk HPV DNA is detectable in a subset of these lesions, the lack of p16 overexpression suggests that the oncogenic process is not driven by HPV oncoproteins.

Footnotes

  • Competing interests None.

  • Ethics approval No specific ethics approval required under Guy's & St Thomas' NHS Foundation R&D Department (RJ110/N200).

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.