title: The absence of human papillomavirus in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma in East China.
abstract: Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is one of the most common types of tumors worldwide, particularly in China, and human papillomavirus (HPV) is thought to be a potential risk factor for this cancer. To determine whether this is true, we collected 177 formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded ESCC samples from two hospitals. We screened for 23 different HPV genotypes using a human papillomavirus genotyping kit, which allowed us to amplify the L1 gene by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and test for 23 HPV subtypes by reverse dot blot (RDB) on a single membrane. We also used immunohistochemistry (IHC) to detect the P16(INK4a) protein, the expression of which is linked to HPV E7 activity and which is used to diagnose cervical intraepithelial neoplasia. The genotyping results showed that only six samples were weakly positive for HPV: two for HPV16, two for HPV11 and two for HPV35, with no samples showing strong positive signals. The IHC results showed only five samples with diffuse positive staining, with the other samples being completely negative or having only focal positive signals, which were considered as negative. This study demonstrates that the HPV infection rate in ESCC samples is very low, suggesting that HPV is not the etiological cause of ESCC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, The Fifth People's Hospital of Shanghai, Fudan University Shanghai 200240, China.
authors.forename: Haohua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Teng
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, The Fifth People's Hospital of Shanghai, Fudan University Shanghai 200240, China.
authors.forename: Xiaojing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, The Fifth People's Hospital of Shanghai, Fudan University Shanghai 200240, China.
authors.forename: Xiuping
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Shanghai Chest Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University Shanghai 200030, China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Shanghai Chest Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University Shanghai 200030, China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D002681:China; D019941:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p16 / Q000032:analysis / Q000096:biosynthesis; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015151:Immunoblotting; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D027383:Papillomaviridae / Q000235:genetics; D030361:Papillomavirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D019941:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p16; D004279:DNA, Viral
keywords: Human papillomavirus; P16INK4a; PCR; RBD; esophageal squamous cell carcinoma