A novel human papillomavirus sequence based on L1 general primers

Human Papillomavirus Detected in Oropharyngeal Cancers from Chilean Subjects

High-risk human papillomaviruses (HR-HPV) are the causal agents of an important subset of oropharyngeal cancers that has increased considerably in incidence in recent years. In this study, we evaluated the presence of HPV in 49 oropharyngeal cancers from Chilean subjects. The presence of HPV DNA was analyzed by conventional PCR, the genotypes were identified through sequencing, and the expression of E6/E7 transcripts was evaluated by a reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Additionally, to determine p16 expression—a surrogate marker for oncogenic HPV infection—a tissue array was constructed for immunohistochemistry (IHC). HPV was detected in 61.2% of oropharyngeal carcinomas, the most prevalent genotype being HPV16 (80%). E6 and E7 transcripts were detected in 91.6% and 79.1% of the HPV16-positive specimens, respectively, demonstrating functional HPV infections. Furthermore, p16 expression was positive in 58.3% of cases. These findings show a high prevalence of HR-HPV in oropharyngeal tumors from Chile, suggesting the necessity of additional studies to address this growing public health concern.

Detection of mucosal and cutaneous human papillomaviruses in oesophagitis, squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma of the oesophagus

BACKGROUND

Epidemiologic evidence points to a connection between viral infections by the human papillomavirus (HPV) and a subgroup of squamous cell carcinomas of the oropharynx. Still controversial is the association of HPV infection with oesophageal neoplasia.

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the presence of mucosal as well as cutaneous HPVs in squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma of the oesophagus.

STUDY DESIGN

HPV DNA has been searched by PCR and characterized by nucleotide sequence analysis in paraffin-embedded biopsies from Italian patients with oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (n=36), sarcomatoid cell carcinoma (n=1), adenocarcinoma (n=20) and oesophagitis lesions (n=27).

RESULTS

A broad spectrum of HPVs, primarily cutaneous types was demonstrated in 27.8% (10/36) of squamous cell carcinomas with a significantly higher frequency in well (G1) and moderately (G2) differentiated grades (47.3%, 9/19) compared to poorly (G3) differentiated (5.9%, 1/17) squamous cell carcinoma (p=0.008), and in 10% (2/20) of adenocarcinomas and in 29.6% (8/27) of oesophagitis. HPV types detected included mucosal types HPV 6 and 16, cutaneous types HPV 8, 15, 20 and 25; and the putative new HPV types X14, X15, DL473, PPHL1FR and CJ198.

CONCLUSIONS

There is no evidence of any association between mucosal HPVs and oesophageal neoplasia. The cutaneous HPVs are detected at low frequency in adenocarcinoma and poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma, while they are frequently detected in oesophagitis and in well and moderately differentiated squamous cell carcinoma suggesting their tropism for keratinized tissue, although a significant association with such neoplasias cannot be drawn.

Case-control study in a subtropical Australian population to assess the relation between non-melanoma skin cancer and epidermodysplasia verruciformis human papillomavirus DNA in plucked eyebrow hairs. The Nambour Skin Cancer Prevention Study Group

Epidermodysplasia verruciformis human papillomavirus (EV-HPV) DNA has been demonstrated in malignant and benign skin lesions and in hairs plucked from renal transplant recipients and immunocompetent patients. We investigated the association between EV-HPV DNA in hairs plucked from eyebrows and the occurrence of non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) in a community-based study. Within a cohort of residents of a Queensland township (Nambour), nested case-control studies of recently developed NMSC (64 cases), basal-cell carcinoma (BCC) (51 cases) and squamous-cell carcinoma (SCC) (25 cases) were conducted. EV-HPV DNA in hair and a small number of available tumour samples was detected using a nested PCR specific for EV-HPV types. EV-HPV DNA was detected in hairs from 94 of 143 individuals (66%), and 36 (39%) of the samples contained 2 or more different EV-HPV types. Only known or putatively new EV-HPV types were detectable after sequencing 93 samples. EV-HPV status agreed for 12 of 20 subjects who had both hair and skin tumour samples available. In 4 of 5 pairs of positive samples, the same EV-HPV type was found. There were non-significant negative associations between EV-HPV and NMSC (OR 0.77, 95% CI 0.34-1.8) and BCC (OR 0.58, 95% CI 0.23-1.5) but a non-significant positive association with SCC (OR 2.00, 95% CI 0.50-8.0).

Human papillomavirus involvement in esophageal carcinogenesis in the high-incidence area of China. A study of 700 cases by screening and type-specific in situ hybridization

BACKGROUND

Human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA has been identified in esophageal precancerous lesions and carcinomas. However, there are marked variations in the prevalence of HPV infection reported in different studies. Most previous studies on HPV and esophageal carcinomas have been based on a limited number of biopsy samples studied by different HPV detection methods with highly variable sensitivity and specificity, making systematic studies of larger series clearly warranted.

METHODS

A series of 1876 surgical specimens (primary tumor, adjacent epithelium, regional lymph nodes, resection margins) from 700 patients surgically resected for an invasive squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus in the high-incidence area of China was analyzed for the presence of HPV DNA with screening in situ hybridization (ISH) using biotinylated HPV DNA probes and followed by type-specific ISH for HPV 6, 11, 16, 18, 30, and 53.

RESULTS

Of the 700 esophageal carcinomas, 118 (16.9%) were shown to contain HPV DNA sequences by screening ISH. Positive signals were most frequent in the cancer cells (16.6%), more rare in the surrounding hyperplastic and dysplastic epithelia (5.6%), and infrequently present in the resection margins (0.2%). HPV signals were also detected in cancer cells in 6.9% of the lymph node metastases. HPV types 6, 11, 16, 18, and 30 account for 39.8% of the HPV-positive lesions, of which the high-risk types HPV 16 and 18 were present in 27.1% (32 of 118). Notably, 60.2% of the HPV-positive lesions contained DNA sequences other than HPV types 6, 11, 16, 18, 30, and 53.

CONCLUSIONS

This study reports the largest series of esophageal cancers ever analyzed for the presence of HPV DNA. Our results confirm the presence of common mucosal HPV types in esophageal carcinomas but also suggest the involvement of other (novel?) HPV types that are unusually detected in genital cancers in a significant proportion of these lesions. The results further indicate that HVP has an etiologic role in esophageal carcinogenesis, at least in the high-incidence area of northern China.

Detection of human papillomavirus types 6 and 11 in pubic and perianal hair from patients with genital warts

Genital human papillomavirus (HPV) types 6 and 11 are of clinical importance due to their role in the development of anogenital warts. A pilot study was performed to investigate whether DNAs from HPV types 6 and 11 are present in hairs plucked from the pubic and perianal regions and eyebrows of patients with genital warts at present and patients with a recent history of genital warts. Genital HPV DNA was detected in 9 of 25 (36%) pubic hair samples and in 11 of 22 (50%) perianal hair samples by the CPI/CPIIg PCR. After sequencing of 17 of 20 samples, HPV type 6 or 11 was detected in 6 of 25 (24%) hair samples from the pubis and 8 of 22 (36%) hair samples from the perianal region. These types were not detected in plucked eyebrow hairs. In contrast, the HPV types associated with epidermodysplasia verruciformis were detected in similar proportions (62%) in both samples of pubic and eyebrow hairs. Moreover, HPV type 6 and 11 DNAs were detected in pubic hairs plucked from two patients who had been successfully treated and who did not show any lesion at the time of hair collection; this finding is an argument that HPV DNA may persist in this region. The presence of genital HPV types in plucked pubic and perianal hair suggests that there is an endogenous reservoir for HPV which may play a role in the recurrences of genital warts.

Papillomavirus in esophageal papillomas and carcinomas

Human papillomavirus (HPV) has been implicated as a possible etiological factor in the development of squamous-cell carcinoma of the esophagus. Published data demonstrating HPV DNA in these lesions have been conflicting, varying between failure to detect HPV DNA to detection of up to 60% to 70% of the biopsies harboring HPV DNA, mainly HPV 16 and HPV 18. We have analyzed esophageal carcinoma samples from 2 high-risk areas, China and South Africa, using a degenerate PCR approach. All amplified products were cloned and sequenced. A broad spectrum of HPV types was demonstrated in 10/29 samples from China and 9/34 samples from South Africa. HPV types detected included mucosal types HPV 6, 18, 51, 52 and 57; cutaneous types HPV 9, 20, 24 and 25; and the putative new HPV types DL231, DL428 and DL436, with HPV 6/51, 6/57, 20/9 and 20/DL231 occurring as double infections. HPV 6 predominated (4 samples) in 11 esophageal papillomas originating from patients in Europe and tested for HPV DNA. Other HPV types present included HPV 20, DL284 and DL436. Another putative new HPV type, DL416, was identified in a dysplastic lesion of the esophagus.

Novel human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA sequences from recurrent cutaneous and mucosal lesions of a stoma-carrier

Recent studies have demonstrated a high prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) types originally believed to be restricted to patients with epidermodysplasia verruciformis (EV) in benign and malignant skin tumors of the general population. Other groups detected typical mucosal HPV in skin tumors. We have investigated recurrent leukoplakial cutaneous and mucosal lesions located around the ileostoma of a woman with ulcerative colitis for the presence of HPV. Cutaneous, mucocutaneous, and mucosal ileostoma-biopsies were analyzed by three different polymerase chain reaction protocols for genital, cutaneous, and cutaneous EV-associated HPV types. Polymerase chain reaction products were cloned, sequenced, and submitted to phylogenetic analyses. HPV-DNA sequences of the EV-HPV group could be detected in all biopsies, whereas genital/mucosal or cutaneous HPV types were not found. HPV types detected comprised HPV20, HPV23, HPV38, and four putatively novel HPV types that belong to different clusters of the EV-HPV group B1. Different HPV types prevailed in cutaneous, mucocutaneous, and mucosal lesions and the number of HPV sequences found per lesion varied between one and three. Our data show the association of recurrent lesions around a stoma and at the ileum with known and novel EV-HPV types. These results emphasize the plurality of HPV and yield data for the possible transmission of cutaneous HPV to mucosal areas of the intestine.