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Expression of Epstein–Barr virus among oral potentially malignant disorders and oral squamous cell carcinomas in the South Indian tobacco‐chewing population
Author(s) -
Reddy Sujatha S.,
Sharma Shivani,
Mysorekar Vijaya
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of oral pathology and medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.887
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1600-0714
pISSN - 0904-2512
DOI - 10.1111/jop.12508
Subject(s) - medicine , chewing tobacco , malignancy , cancer , oral lichen planus , basal cell , population , virus , epstein–barr virus , carcinogenesis , pathology , immunology , environmental health
Background Oral cancer is the sixth most common malignancy in the world. Viruses are the causative agents of approximately 10–15% of all cancers worldwide ( Cancers , 6, 2014 and 2155). The tumorigenic roles of Epstein–Barr virus in oral cancer are unclear. Literature search results are conflicting and dependent on various factors such as geographical/regional variations, sociocultural lifestyles, dietary habits, chewing/smoking tobacco habit. This study is the first original observation about frequency of Epstein–Barr virus among South Indian tobacco‐chewing patients to elucidate its involvement in oral carcinogenesis and to know whether this can be a valuable diagnostic and prognostic indicator. Materials and Methods A total number of 75 tobacco chewer subjects aged between 23 and 76 years with histopathologically confirmed oral potentially malignant disorders (25), oral squamous cell carcinoma (25), and age‐matched healthy controls (25) formed the study group. Immunohistochemical expression of Epstein–Barr virus latent membrane protein 1 was assessed among cases and healthy controls. Results Out of the total 75 subjects, six subjects (8%) were positive for Epstein–Barr virus antigen and 69 subjects (92%) negative. The antigen positivity was observed among two cases of moderately differentiated oral squamous cell carcinoma, two cases of leukoplakia, and two healthy controls. Conclusion No significant association between Epstein–Barr virus positivity was observed among oral potentially malignant disorders and oral squamous cell carcinoma among South Indian tobacco‐chewing patients. This can be partially explained by the methodology employed, by the patient population analyzed and different habits in various geographical regions.