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Prevalence of EBV, CMV, and HPV in oral squamous cell carcinoma patients in the Pakistani population
Author(s) -
Naqvi Syeda Uzma,
Khan Saeed,
Ahmed Ayaz,
Lail Amanullah,
Gul Saima,
Ahmed Sagheer
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of medical virology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 121
eISSN - 1096-9071
pISSN - 0146-6615
DOI - 10.1002/jmv.25791
Subject(s) - coinfection , cytomegalovirus , virology , epstein–barr virus , virus , population , cancer , medicine , immunology , polymerase chain reaction , pathogenesis , viral disease , herpesviridae , biology , gene , environmental health , biochemistry
Abstract Many studies have proposed an important role of viruses in the pathogenesis of oral cancer. The present study aimed to find out the prevalence of Epstein‐Barr virus (EBV), cytomegalovirus (CMV), and human papillomavirus (HPV) among patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) in a Pakistani cohort. We investigated tissue samples obtained from 58 patients with OSCC using the polymerase chain reaction assay. No sample was positive for HPV. EBV was identified in 15 patients (25.86%), and CMV in three patients (5.17%). Coinfection with one or more viruses was detected in two cases and was coinfection with EBV and CMV. These results suggest a low prevalence of these viruses in OSCC patients in the Pakistani population compared to most other countries where the prevalence of these viruses has been reported in the past. Nevertheless, further studies are necessary to determine the potential role of EBV and the possible importance of CMV as an infection cofactor in oral cancer.