Human Papillomavirus in Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Esophagus in a High-Risk Population

Abstract

Introduction and Aims: The role of human papillomavirus (HPV) in the etiology of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is not clear. Previous studies have found highly variable (from 0% to 67%) prevalence of HPV in ESCC tumor. However, prevalence of HPV in ESCC tumor seems to be higher in areas with high incidence of ESCC , such as China and South Africa. Iran is one of the areas of the world with the highest rates of ESCC. However, no previous study has reported the prevalence of HPV in ESCC tumor tissues from Iran.

Materials and Methods: In this study, we compared the prevalence of a common marker for the presence of HPV (MY09/MY11 consensus primers) and two markers for the presence of HPV-16 and HPV-18 (respective E6 /E7 primers) in tumor tissues from 38 ESCC cases and normal biopsied tissues from 38 Iranian individuals.

Results: 14 out of the 38 ESCC (36.8%) samples, but only 5 out of 38 control samples (13.2%) were positive for the common marker of HPV presence; this difference was statistically significant (p=0.02). Five ESCC samples (13.2%) but none of the control samples were positive for HPV16 E6 /E7 gene (p=0.05). Three of the ESCC samples (7.9%) and five of the control samples (13.2%) were positive for HPV18 E6 /E7 gene.

Conclusions: Our data are consistent with HPV DNA studies conducted in other high-risk areas for ESCC. HPV should be considered as a potential factor responsible for the increased incidence of ESCC in Iran and other high-incidence areas of the world.