Saliva-Based Screening of High-Risk Human Papillomavirus Strains: Detection in Female Indonesian and Thai Dental Students

Background: Currently it is believed that human papillomaviruses (HPV) are associated with the developmentof some oral/oropharyngeal cancers. It has been suggested that these viruses influence carcinogenesis in bothsmokers and non-smokers. Data on the prevalence of HPV in healthy adults are thus needed to estimate therisk of oral/oropharyngeal cancer. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of oral HPV in healthyfemale adults in Indonesia and Thailand. Materials and
Methods: Healthy female students from the Facultiesof Dentistry of Universitas Indonesia and Chiang Mai University were asked to participate in this pilot study.DNA was extracted from saliva specimens and screened for HPV16 and HPV18 using PCR.
Results: The age,marital status and sexual experience of the subjects between the two countries were not significantly different.Eight (4%) and 4 (2%) samples were positive for HPV16 and HPV18, respectively. Fisher’s Exact test founda significant difference between HPV16 positivity in subjects who were married and had sexual intercoursebut not for HPV18.
Conclusions: This study successfully detected presence of HPV16 and HPV18 DNA in anumber of saliva samples from female dental school students. Marital status, experience of sexual intercourseand safe sexual practice are related to the possibility of finding HPV DNA finding in saliva. Dentists, physiciansand other health care professionals may gain significant value from the findings of this study, which provide anunderstanding of the nature of HPV infection and its risk to patient health and disease.