Human parvovirus B19 infection in malignant and benign tissue specimens of different head and neck anatomical subsites.

Background: The role of human parvovirus B19 (B19V) infection in malignant and benign lesions such as head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs) and oral mucocele lesions has not been established. Herein, we examined, for the first time, the presence of B19V in HNSCCs from Iranian subjects.

Methods: One hundred and eight HNSCC specimens were analyzed for the presence of B19V using nested polymerase chain reaction (nPCR) and TaqMan quantitative PCR assays. Immunohistochemistry procedures were performed to evaluate the expression of B19V VP1/VP2 proteins, p16INK4a, and NF-κB in tumor tissues and their adjacent non-tumor tissues. In addition, 40 oral mucocele, 30 oral buccal mucosa swabs, and 30 nasopharyngeal swabs obtained from healthy adults were analyzed as controls.

Results: B19V DNA was detected in 36.1% of HNSCCs. Further, 23.3% of HNSCC specimens showed immunoreactivity against B19V VP1/VP2 proteins. There was a significant difference in the frequency of B19V DNA-positive cases between the patient and control groups (p < 0.0001). Moreover, comparing tumoral tissues and their adjacent non-tumor tissues in terms of immunoreactivity against B19V structural proteins, a significant association was found between tumor tissues and B19V infection (p < 0.0001). Finally, investigating the simultaneous presence of B19V and high-risk human papillomaviruses (HPV) DNA, we found a significant association between these two viral infections in HNSCCs (p = 0.031).

Conclusions: To sum up, B19V was frequently present in HNSCC tissues of Iranian patients but mostly absent in the adjacent non-tumor tissues as well as oral mucocele lesions, buccal, and nasopharyngeal swabs of healthy subjects. HPV possibly contributes to B19V persistence in HNSCC tissues. Additional research is required to investigate potential etiological or cofactor roles of B19V in the development of HNSCCs.