title: Retrospective case-control study of viral pathogen screening in proliferative verrucous leukoplakia lesions.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study aimed to survey the presence of known oncoviruses in oral biopsies from patients diagnosed with the aetiologically undetermined proliferative verrucous leukoplakia and compare results to those from milder oral leukoplakia (OL) cases, oral squamous cell carcinoma, a common outcome of the lesions of interest, and healthy controls.
  
  
  METHODS
  Blind, retrospective, case-control study.
  
  
  METHODS
  A stomatology unit in an academic Hospital and a Public Health laboratory.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty patients were divided in four groups. Ten patients had been diagnosed with proliferative verrucous leukoplakia, 10 with OL and 10 with OSCC, and 10 were healthy subjects.
  
  
  METHODS
  The presence or absence of oncovirus DNA was assayed with the amplification of viral genetic markers using PCR and subsequent gel electrophoresis confirmation. Amplified fragments were sequenced and identified bioinformatically.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No DNA from the herpesvirus, papillomavirus or polyomavirus species was detected in the samples.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  No association between proliferative verrucous leukoplakia and target viruses was detected. A higher throughput viral metagenomic approach may prove valuable for future analyses, as it would not be restricted to a priori knowledge of potential targets.
authors.affiliation: Área de Genómica y Salud de la Fundación para el Fomento de la Investigación Sanitaria y Biomédica de la Comunidad Valenciana (FISABIO)-Salud Pública, Valencia, Spain; Institut Cavanilles de Biodiversitat i Biologia Evolutiva, Universitat de València, Valencia, Spain; CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: García-López
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Moya
authors.forename: J V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Bagan
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Pérez-Brocal
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001706:Biopsy; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D018289:Carcinoma, Verrucous / Q000473:pathology* / Q000821:virology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D007972:Leukoplakia, Oral / Q000473:pathology* / Q000821:virology*; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D009858:Oncogenic Viruses / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000473:pathology* / Q000821:virology*
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral