Human papillomavirus infection is rare in nonmalignant tonsil tissue in the UK: implications for tonsil cancer precursor lesions

Palmer, Elizabeth, Newcombe, Robert ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4400-8867, Green, Adele C., Kelly, Carole, Noel Gill, O., Hall, Gillian, Fiander, Alison, Pirotte, Evelyne, Hibbitts, Samantha, Homer, Jarrod and Powell, Ned 2014. Human papillomavirus infection is rare in nonmalignant tonsil tissue in the UK: implications for tonsil cancer precursor lesions. International Journal of Cancer 135 (10) , pp. 2437-2443. 10.1002/ijc.28886

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract

The incidence of human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated tonsil cancer is increasing but the prevalence of HPV, and of premalignant precursors, in tonsil tissue is unknown. We aimed to assess prevalence of HPV infection in nonmalignant tonsillar crypt epithelia and to histopathologically characterise positive samples. Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tonsil tissue specimens were obtained from an age- and sex-stratified random sample of patients aged 0–69 years whose paired tonsils were archived following elective tonsillectomy at hospitals throughout England and Southern Scotland from 2004 to 2008. Homogenised fresh-frozen tonsil tissue was also obtained from archive for two random subsets of males aged 25–34 and over 44. HPV status was assessed in all samples for 20 mucosal HPV types by GP5+/6+ polymerase chain reaction (PCR) enzyme immunoassay and by HPV16 type-specific PCR targeting the E6 gene. In the homogenised material, HPV status was also assessed for 44 HPV types by SPF10-PCR enzyme immunoassay. Of 4,095 randomly sampled FFPE specimens, amplifiable DNA was extracted from 3,377 (82.5%) and from 511 of 524 (97.5%) homogenised tonsils. HPV DNA was identified in 0 of 3,377 (0%, 95% CI 0–0.089%) fixed samples and 0 of 511 (0%, 95% CI 0–0.58%) homogenised samples. This suggests HPV infection may be rare in tonsil reticulated crypt epithelia. Furthermore, we found no evidence of HPV-associated premalignant neoplasia. These data suggest that if HPV-associated premalignant lesions do occur, they are likely to be rare and may have a high risk of progression to carcinoma.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Medicine
Subjects:	R Medicine > RC Internal medicine > RC0254 Neoplasms. Tumors. Oncology (including Cancer)
Additional Information:	Conflicts of interest: R.N. has received consultancy fees from Glaxo SmithKline for work on unrelated projects, mainly dental. A.F. has served on advisory boards for companies that produce HPV vaccines (GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals SA and Sanofi Pasteur MSD) and received research grant funding and support to attend HPV-related conferences from both companies. S.H. has received research grant funding and support to attend HPV-related conferences from companies that supply HPV tests (Roche). N.P. has received research funding and honoraria to speak/advise on HPV from companies that produce HPV vaccines (GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals SA and Sanofi Pasteur MSD)
Publisher:	Wiley
ISSN:	0020-7136
Date of Acceptance:	11 March 2014
Last Modified:	28 Oct 2022 10:36
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/78955

Citation Data

Cited 41 times in Scopus. View in Scopus. Powered By Scopus® Data

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item