Abstract
The tissues from 50 cases of oral tumor lesions, including 31 cases of squamous cell carcinomas, 3 cases of mucocpidermoid cell carcinomas, and 16 cases of benign lesions, were examined for the preserce of human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA by a dot blot hybridization kit for the detection of HPV DNA. HPV DNA were detected in 2 of 34 cases (5.9%) of the malignant oral lesions. The types of HPV detected in these two patients were HPV 6/11 and HPV 16/18, respectively. None of 16 cases of the oral benign tumors, including leukoplakia, contained HPV DNA. From the HPV 6/11 positive case, HPV containing exfoliated cells were also collected by swab. The HPV 6/11 DNA was detected in the tissue of tumor region, but totally absent in the normal region in the vicinity of the tumor. After chemotherapy and radiotherapy, the HPV DNA could not be detected from the HPV 6/11 positive case according to the disappearance of tumor. However, the HPV DNA was detected from HPV 16/18 positive case even after chemotherapy and radiotherapy, in spite of almost complete disappearance of tumor. After surgical removal of tumor, HPV DNA could not be detected. These data suggest that the HPV positive rate in oral tumors in japan is not very high and HPV infections occur in limited mucosa. Conventional therapies were also effective for the malignant oral tumor positive for HPV.
