Usefulness of human papillomavirus detection in oral rinse as a biomarker of oropharyngeal cancer

AbstractConclusion: The detection of human papillomavirus (HPV)-DNA in oral rinse with auto-nested GP5+/GP6 + PCR is useful as a biomarker of oropharyngeal cancer.Background: This study aimed to determine the usefulness of oral rinse to detect HPV-DNA as a biomarker of HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer (OPC).Patients and methods: One hundred and ten patients with various head and neck diseases, including 19 patients with OPC, were enrolled. Oral rinse and tonsillar swab were collected, and auto-nested GP5+/GP6 + PCR for HPV-DNA was performed. For oropharyngeal cancer, p16 immunostaining was also conducted.Results: The rate of HPV-DNA detection in both oral rinse and tonsillar swab was significantly higher in OPC compared with non-OPC upper respiratory tract cancer and non-cancer diseases. HPV-DNA was detected in oral rinse in nine out of 12 p16-positive OPC cases, while none of the p16-negative OPC cases demonstrated detectable HPV-DNA. All p16-positive cases were also positive for HPV-DNA in tumor tissue...