Prevalence of human papillomavirus in squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue

Oncogenic human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are important agents in the genesis of gynecological cancer, and have also been implied in the genesis of oral cancer. With the purpose of evaluating the relationship between HPV and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the tongue, a case-control study was performed. Fifty white male patients who were smokers and had the histological diagnosis of SCC of the tongue were selected. The control group was composed of 10 matched patients with no clinical evidence of tongue lesions. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to detect the presence of HPV genome in fresh-frozen tissue specimens from SCC of the tongue margin. Thirty-seven patients (74%) had a positive PCR for oncogenic papillomavirus, and only 1 specimen (10%) of the control group was positive for nononcogenic papillomavirus. Based on the statistical analysis of this study there was a 25.6% higher risk for SCC of the tongue to harbor oncogenic HPV than the healthy control tongue tissue.