Human herpesvirus-6 and Epstein-Barr virus infections at different histopathological grades of oral squamous cell carcinomas

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and viral load of Epstein-Barr virus [EBV] and Human herpesvirus-6 [HHV-6] in different histopathologic grades of oral squamous cell carcinoma [OSCC]. Forty-five formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue section of OSCC patients were analyzed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction for detection of EBV and HHV-6. The mean age of the patients was 58.6 years, 69% of whom were female, and 31% were male. Overall, the positive rate for EBV and HHV-6 were 16.7% and 27.1%, respectively; and the mean viral load EBV was 27.9 x 10[3] and 38.5 x 10[3] for HHV-6. No correlation was demonstrated between the viral load of EBV DNA [P = 0.35] and HHV-6 [P = 0.38] at the different OSCC histopathologic grades. These findings neither lend support to the hypothesis that EBV and HHV-6 are directly involved in OSCC nor rule out the possibility that these viruses play an indirect role in carcinogenesis in this area