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Abstract
Background. Unlike cervical, anogenital and oropharyngeal cancers, where high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) has long been known to play a major role, a causative link between HPV and lung cancer has been investigated for decades with discrepant results.
Methods. Lung cancer patients eligible for surgical treatment were tested for the presence of HPV-DNA in excised, fresh frozen lung tumor tissue. Patients that tested positive were further examined for the presence of HPV-DNA in adjacent normal lung parenchyma. HPV detection and genotyping was performed using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based approach and allowed the typing of 13 “high-risk”-HPV-types and 2 “low-risk”-HPV-types.
Results. Of the 334 tumor-DNA samples tested, 13 (3.9%) showed presence of HPV-DNA, of which 12 were of a high-risk HPV type (16, 33, 66). In those tested positive, HPV-DNA was not found in adjacent normal lung tissue. No correlation with smoking or EGFR/KRAS mutation status was seen, and only one of 84 squamous cell carcinomas was HPV-positive.
Conclusion. We conclude that HPV is rarely associated with lung cancer in a Northern European population and in those tested positive, more functional studies are required to determine the role HPV plays in lung cancer oncogenesis.
Acknowledgments
The technical assistance provided by research nurse Ingjerd Solvoll is highly appreciated.
Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper. The study was funded by South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority and The Research Council of Norway.