HPV-16 Detection and Quantitation in Whole Mouth Fluid of Oral and Cervical Cancer Patients

Introduction: The association of human papillomavirus (HPV) in cervical and oropharyngeal cancer is well established. There is a growing evidence that HPV could possibly contribute to oral cancer along with alcohol and tobacco use. The aim of this study was to evaluate and quantify HPV-16 in the whole mouth fluid of patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), cervical cancer, and normal controls. Materials and Methods: The whole mouth fluid of 20 patients with OSCC (Group I), 10 with cervical cancer (Group II), and 10 normal individuals (Group III) was collected by the spit technique. The DNA was extracted and quantified by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Data were analyzed by SPSS 21 (IBM Corp. Released 2012, Armonk, NY: IBM Corp) software and analysis of variance test was used. Results: The mean age of Group I patients was 50.9 ± 13.5 years, Group II was 51.6 ± 8.07 years, and Group III was 46 ± 8.5 years. In Group I, 15 were males and 5 were females. In Group III, 5 were males and 5 were females. Eight patients belonging to Group I, four of Group II, and seven of Group III had HPV-16 in their whole mouth fluid. Conclusion: HPV-16 was identified in the whole mouth fluid of OSCC, patients with cervical cancer, and even in normal controls. However, the mean viral loads were highest in patients with cervical cancer followed by patients with OSCC and normal controls.