HPV genotypes in the oral cavity/oropharynx of children and adolescents: cross-sectional survey in Poland

Abstract

Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are a very complex group of pathogenic viruses, with more than 80 types, causing human infection. Given the prevalence of HPV infection and its relationship with the development of cervical and many other cancers, HPV vaccine development has been a major public health initiative worldwide in the last decade. The aim of the presented study was to identify HPV DNA by MY-PCR in 4,150 school children and adolescents, aged 10–18 years in the Wielkopolska region, Poland. All individuals were asked to fill in extensive questionnaires; further normal, oral squamous cells were collected from each pupil. Cellular DNA was isolated and used as a MY-PCR template to estimate the incidence of HPV-active infection. Forty five subjects (1.08% of the sample) were carriers of oropharyngeal HPVs. HPV status and variables of interest, such as age, gender, socioeconomical status, and risk factors (smoking and sexual intercourse history, alcohol consumption) were not correlated. The presence of HPVs in the oral cavity was cumulated in several schools of the region. DNA sequencing of MY-PCR products revealed only four HPV genotypes. The most frequent genotype was HPV11 (38/45 HPV-positive cases), while other more rare genotypes were HPV6 (3/45), HPV12 (3/45), and HPV57 (1/45). Conclusion: Our findings presented herein, reveal a relatively low prevalance of oropharyngeal HPVs in Polish adolescents and fill an important gap in the knowledge of oral HPV infections of children above 10 years and adolescents.

Childhood passive smoke exposure is associated with adult head and neck cancer

“…[9] However, our observation of increased risk of oropharyngeal cancer in never-smokers is interesting given the high frequency of HPV detection in these tumors. [7] While oral[18-21] and oropharyngeal[20, 22] HPV infection is detectable in children, these infections are transient[23] and unrelated to parental smoking. [18, 19] Therefore, it seems unlikely that childhood HPV infection and interaction with CPSE promote adult HNSCC.…”

Oral HPV Related Diseases: A Review and an Update

“…This variation can produce either an easier to inhibit gene or a harder to inhibit one, thus stratifying the virus oncogenic phenotype into high, intermediate and low risk types [7].Besides its oncogenic potential, the HPV types vary according to tissue tropism and their association with these tissues [10]. Over a 100 HPV types [7] have been identified, but only 25 (HPV - 1,2,3,4,6,7,10,11,13,16,18,31,32,33,35,40,45,52,55,57,58,59,69,72,73) were associated with benign or malignant lesions [3,10]. Low-risk HPV (6,11,38,40,42,54,55,61,62,64,67,69,70,71,72,81,83,84,…”

“…Low-risk HPV (6,11,38,40,42,54,55,61,62,64,67,69,70,71,72,81,83,84,89) [11] causes injuries which produce abnormal cell growth [8]; however, they are unlikely to undergo malignant neoplastic transformation. High-risk HPV (16,18,26,31,33,35,39,45,51,52,53,56,58,59,66,68,73,82) [11] are likely to induce malignant neoplastic transformation [3,11]. Recently HPV-26, 53, 66 have been found to be among the potentially high-risk types [12].…”

“…Since HPV has tropism for epithelial tissue [2][3][4], it can affect both skin and mucosa [3,4]. It causes several types of injuries, ranging from asymptomatic infection and benign warts to invasive injuries [5].…”

Prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) in the oral cavity of children and adolescents – what should dentists know?

“…Durzyńska et al [10] carried out the study in the population of children and adolescents in Poland. In total 4150 children aged 10-18 years were examined.…”