Detection of Human Papillomavirus in Normal Oral Cavity in a Group of Pakistani Subjects using Real-Time PCR

Since there is evidence that human papillomavirus (HPV) may play some role in oral carcinogenesis, weinvestigated the presence of HPV in a group of Pakistani subjects with normal oral cavity using real-time PCRanalysis. Two-hundred patients attending the Dental Department, Sandaman Provincial Hospital, Balochistan,Pakistan, were recruited. After interview, oral epithelial cells were collected by scraping and subjected to DNAextraction. The HPV-positive DNA samples were further analyzed using primer sets specific for HPV-16 and-18. It was found that out of 200 DNA samples, 192 were PCR-positive for the β-globin gene and these weresubsequently examined for the presence of HPV DNA. Among these, 47 (24.5%) were HPV-positive with thevirus copy number ranged between 0.43-32 copies per 1 μg of total DNA (9-99 copies per PCR reaction). Therewere 4 and 11 samples containing HPV-16 and -18, respectively. Additionally, one sample harbored both typesof HPV. Among the investigated clinical parameters, smoking habit was associated with the presence of HPV (p= 0.001) while others indicated no significant association. The prevalence of HPV in normal oral cavity in ourPakistani subjects appears to be comparable to other studies. However, the association between the presence ofHPV and smoking warrants further investigations whether both of these factors can cooperate in inducing oralcancer in this group of patients.