Do polyomavirus hominis strains BK and JC play a role in oral squamous cell carcinoma?

Introduction: Head and neck cancers are the most common cancers worldwide. It is estimated that approximately 90% of all head and neck cancers are represented by squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). There are many risk factors causing this type of cancer, including environmental factors and lifestyle choices, such as tobacco smoking or abusing alcohol. Other important risk factor include infectious factors.

Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze the prevalence of BK and JC virus infections among patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC).

Materials And Method: The correlation between BKV infection and OSCC, and correlation between BKV, OSCC, alcohol abuse, tobacco smoking, demographic data, pre-treatment staging, metastases of lymph node evidence, and grading, was analyzed. The study group consisted of 92 patients with squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), 75 males, and 17 females, aged between 40 - 87 (average 56.8). All the patients underwent surgery and were not subjected to chemotherapy or radiotherapy prior to treatment. The analyzed samples were collected from paraffin sections.

Results: BKV DNA was detected in 18.5% of patients with OSCC. In the control group, BKV DNA was detected in 3.3%. BKV DNA was statistically more frequently detected among patients with squamous carcinoma, compared to the control group (p<0.05).

Conclusions: The obtained results suggest that the BKV virus may play an important role in the development of oral squamous cell carcinoma.