Frequency of HPV-16 in saliva and blood in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma in Pakistani population -

Objective Pakistan is geographically located in the region where prevalence of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is high. Human papilloma virus (HPV) subtype-16 plays significant role in heterogeneity of HNSCC. The study aims to evaluate the frequency of HPV-16 in both blood and saliva in HNSCC in our population and its association with clinicopathological features. Methods A total of 200 samples comprising 100 blood and 100 saliva samples were collected. Hundred samples (saliva; n=50, blood; n=50) were collected from histopathologically confirmed head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patients and 100 samples (saliva; n=50 saliva, blood; n=50) were collected from healthy individuals without a history of cancer as controls. HPV-16 was detected using conventional polymerase chain reaction and gel-electrophoresis. The frequency and distribution of clinicopathological variables were calculated in percentages. Chi-square test was used to analyze the association of HPV-16 positivity with clinicopathological variables. Results Of 100 samples from HNSCC patients, 11 (11%) samples were positive for HPV-16. Of 11 HPV-16 positive samples, 8 (16%) were detected in saliva and 3 (6%) were detected in plasma. Of 100 samples from control group, both blood and saliva samples were negative for HPV-16. No statistically significant association was found between HPV-16 in saliva and blood and clinicopathological characteristics (P > 0.05). Conclusion Within the limit of current study, HPV-16 has a low-frequency in saliva and blood in HNSCC in our population. Further studies on HNSCC with large sample and HPV-subtypes are suggested.