The Association of Human Papillomavirus in Benign and Malignant Laryngeal Lesions—a Pilot Study

Various etiological factors have been described in laryngeal carcinogenesis. Tobacco and alcohol play a major role in the development of laryngeal cancers. However, recently there has been an overshadowing of association of human papillomavirus infection in laryngeal cancers. The aim of this study is to assess the prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) in malignant laryngeal lesions. This is a case control study. We conducted this study using tumor tissue specimens from 30 laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma patients and benign laryngeal tissue specimens from 30 cancer-free controls. The specimens from the lesion were sent to histopathological analysis as well as DNA extraction (DNeasy® Tissue kit) and polymerase chain reaction for detection of HPV. Positive samples underwent sequencing to detect the HPV serotype. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software. All 30 benign laryngeal lesion specimens were negative for the HPV DNA, while 4 of the 30 (7.5%) squamous cell carcinoma lesions were positive. One was HPV 16 and another one HPV 11. Two positive cases were not able to be sequenced probably due to low viral load. Our study suggests that the proportion of laryngeal squamous cell carcinomas attributable to infection by HPV seems to be low. Further prospective studies should be conducted with a larger group of patients to confirm the role of HPV in laryngeal cancers especially in treatment response and survival.