Mucosal human papillomavirus detection and TP53 immunohistochemical expression in non-melanoma skin cancer in Tunisian patients.

Background: Several studies have reported the oncogenic role of human papillomavirus (HPV) in non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) carcinogenesis. Considering that HPV could affect tumor protein 53 (TP53) degradation via E6 oncoprotein, we evaluated the expression of TP53 according to HPV infection and E6 expression.

Methods: Biopsy specimens from 79 NMSCs (28 squamous cell carcinomas, 21 keratoacanthomas and 30 basal cell carcinomas) were enrolled.