Anna Szczygielska

Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a chronic inflammatory T cell-mediated disease that is classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as an oral potentially malignant disorder (OPMD). Despite the heightened interest in the influence of human papillomavirus (HPV) on oral cancer, the overall incidence of HPV affecting patients with OLP remains inconclusive. The study aimed to evaluate the presence of alpha-, betaand gamma-HPVs in saliva samples collected from 31 OLP patients and 19 control volunteers. This hospital-based study has the advantage of providing comprehensive clinical data and oral health history, along with saliva analysis for HPV in the specific OPMD. The DNA extracted from saliva samples obtained from patients with a clinical presentation of OLP, classified as ICD-10:L43, was analyzed using HPV type-specific bead-based multiplex genotyping assays to detect 21 mucosal alpha-, 46 betaand 52 gamma-HPV types. The most common HPV type was HPV-49, with a statistically significant difference found between the OLP and control groups (p < 0.05). There was no statistical correlation between high-risk (HR) HPVs (HPV-16 and HPV-18) and OLP in the studied population. Positive results for the mucosal types of DNA in the saliva were associated with the positive beta and gamma types that were consistently identified in the analyzed biomaterial. Beta-HPV-49 was significantly more prevalent in the saliva of patients with OLP. There was no relationship between HR HPVs and the OLP status, which represents the difference between OLP studied in this research and other OPMDs.

Introduction: In recent years, interest in human papillomavirus infections as a causative factor in epithelial cancer development has grown. Literature indicates that HPV involvement in malignant transformations in oral mucosa can vary significantly, from 0 up to 87%. The aim of our study was to detect the prevalence of salivary HPV infection among generally healthy adults. Materials and Methods: The examination involved 139 patients, from whom 139 whole, 1.5ml saliva samples were obtained. HPV DNA was detected by the nested PCR technique. To visualize the PCR products electrophoresis reactions were carried out. Results: Sample analysis showed that DNA for HPV was detected in 14 patients: 11 positive results were obtained from men, and 3 from women. This yields a high infection rate: 10.07%. Conclusions: The HPV prevalence in the male group was more than twice as high as in the female group. Also, subclinical oral HPV infection was detected more frequently in young (19–39 years old) and older (=>60 years old) adults.