A shifting paradigm in the aetiology of oral and pharyngeal cancer in Sri Lanka: a case-control study providing serologic evidence for the role of oncogenic HPV types 16 and 18.

Background: Oral and pharyngeal cancer (OPC) of multifactorial aetiology is a major health problem globally. Ranking first in all cancers, OPC poses a significant impact on the Sri Lankan male population. As Human Papillomavirus (HPV) high risk (HR) types are found to be significant risk factors for OPC globally, the current study was undertaken to examine the association between HR-HPV16 and 18 types with OPC in Sri Lanka.