E6-Specific Detection and Typing of Human Papillomaviruses in Oral Cavity Specimens from Iranian Patients

Detection and quantification of human Papillomavirus (HPV) genome in oral carcinoma play an important role in diagnosis, as well as implications for progression of disease.
We evaluated tissues from 50 esopharyngeal cancers collected from different regions of Iran for HPV E6 using the two type-specific primers sets. E6 gene of HPV genotypes was amplified by specific primers. The sensitivity of PCR assay was analyzed and determined using HPV-DNA-containing plasmids. Real-time PCR was utilized to determine the prevalence and HPV viral load in patients with oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma.
Eighteen (36%) specimens were positive for HPV. Among the 18 positive specimens, 10 showed HPV-18 (55.55%), and 8 specimens were positive for HPV-11 (44.44%). Of the 18 infected specimens, 6 (33.32%) and 12 (66.65%) were identified as high-titer and low-titer viral load, respectively.
The PCR-based assay, developed in the current study, could be used for HPV detection, quantification, and genotyping in epidemiological and clinical studies.