title: Human papillomavirus serology and tobacco smoking in a community control group.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  HPV infection is an established risk factor for oropharyngeal cancer, and it has been proposed that cigarette smoking may potentiate HPV infection in the oral epithelium. We sought to test the hypothesis that cigarette smoking increases HPV infection in an HPV16 serology study of cancer-free individuals.
  
  
  METHODS
  Subjects were participants in a risk factor study for head and neck cancer, and were required to have no prior history of either HNSCC or any other cancer. Tobacco use and other risk factor data were gathered through interviewer-assisted questionnaires, while serology was conducted in a blinded fashion using a glutathione S-transferase capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to detect antibodies against HPV16 L1, E1, E2, E4, E6 and E7 proteins. The differences in tobacco use by HPV serology were evaluated by ANOVA; and the reported odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were determined by using unconditional logistic regression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found no overall association of HPV16 serological markers with smoking. However, when the data were stratified by median age, smoking was positively associated with seropositivity for the HPV16 L1 capsid antigen in the younger controls while the older controls were less likely to be HPV16 L1 positive if they smoked (pinteraction < 0.002). There was no similar association of smoking and age with serological response to the early proteins (i.e E6, E7).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Exposure to HPV16 capsid protein (L1) is increased among relatively younger adults who smoke and diminished among older smokers. However, this pattern is not accompanied by a differential susceptibility for active infection (as determined by the early gene proteins such as E6 and E7) among young and older smokers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, RI, USA. karl_kelsey@brown.edu.|Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Brown University School of Medicine, Providence, RI, USA. karl_kelsey@brown.edu.
authors.forename: Karl T
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Kelsey
authors.affiliation: Masonic Cancer Center, Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA. hhnelson@umn.edu.
authors.forename: Heather H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, RI, USA. stephanie_min@brown.edu.
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Research Program Infection and Cancer, German Cancer Research Center, DKFZ, Heidelberg, Germany. m.pawlita@dkfz-heidelberg.de.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pawlita
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, RI, USA. langevst@ucmail.uc.edu.|Department of Environmental Health, University of Cincinnati School of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA. langevst@ucmail.uc.edu.
authors.forename: Scott M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Langevin
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, RI, USA. melissa_eliot@brown.edu.
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Eliot
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, RI, USA. Dominique_michaud@brown.edu.
authors.forename: Dominique S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Michaud
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA. mmcclean@bu.edu.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: McClean
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003153:Community Health Services; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000821:virology; D052162:Human papillomavirus 16 / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008404:Massachusetts / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D030361:Papillomavirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000821:virology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D004279:DNA, Viral