High incidence of HPV infection in minors with oral squamous cell carcinoma

Ningxiang Wu; Yonghui Li; Xiaokun Ma; Zhen Huang; Zhuoxuan Chen; Weihua Chen; Ran Zhang

doi:10.1186/s13000-024-01470-9

High incidence of HPV infection in minors with oral squamous cell carcinoma

Diagn Pathol. 2024 Mar 9;19(1):51. doi: 10.1186/s13000-024-01470-9.

Authors

Ningxiang Wu^{1

2

3}, Yonghui Li⁴, Xiaokun Ma⁵, Zhen Huang⁶, Zhuoxuan Chen^{1

2

3}, Weihua Chen^{1

2

3}, Ran Zhang^{7

8}

Affiliations

¹ The Affiliated Stomatological Hospital, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330006, China.
² Jiangxi Province Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedicine, Nanchang, China.
³ Jiangxi Province Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Nanchang, China.
⁴ Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology, Beijing, China.
⁵ Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, The Affiliated Stomatological Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou Stomatological Hospital, Suzhou, China.
⁶ College of Life Sciences, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, China.
⁷ Department of Oral Pathology, Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology, 22 South Zhongguancun Avenue, Haidian District, Beijing, 100081, China. rani@bjmu.edu.cn.
⁸ Research Unit of Precision Pathologic Diagnosis in Tumors of the Oral and Maxillofacial Regions, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China. rani@bjmu.edu.cn.

Abstract

Background: Oral squamous cell carcinoma in minors is considered to be a distinct entity from OSCC in older patients, with an uncertain etiology. Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection may trigger the initiation and promote the progression of OSCC, but these roles have not been firmly established.We aimed to explore the correlation between HPV infection and the development of oral squamous cell carcinoma in minors and know the characteristics of OSCC in young patients more thoroughly.

Method: From January 2013 to December 2022,6 cases of OSCC aged < 15 years were selected from the Department of Oral Pathology, Peking University School of Stomatology, Beijing, China. All cases underwent testing for high-risk HPV mRNA infection using the RNA scope technique, and immunohistochemical staining was performed to investigate the expression of p16, pan-cytokeratin (CK), CK5/6, CK7, CK8/18, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), p53, and Ki-67. Furthermore, we reviewed the literature on OSCC in patients aged < 21 years.

Conclusions: Minors OSCC is associated with HPV infection, and that p16 can serve as an immunohistochemical marker of HPV positivity.

Keywords: Fluorescence in-situ hybridization; HPV infection; Minors; Oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Aged
Carcinoma, Squamous Cell* / pathology
Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p16 / genetics
DNA, Viral / genetics
Head and Neck Neoplasms*
Humans
Incidence
Mouth Neoplasms* / pathology
Papillomaviridae / genetics
Papillomavirus Infections* / complications
Papillomavirus Infections* / epidemiology
Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck

Substances

DNA, Viral
Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p16

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding