title: Detection and Phylogenetic Analysis of Torque Teno Virus in Salivary and Tumor Biopsy Samples from Head and Neck Carcinoma Patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Because torque teno virus (TTV) has been implicated in tumorigenesis as a cocarcinogen, we studied TTV prevalence in saliva and biopsy samples from head and neck cancer (HNCC) patients, patients with premalignant lesions of oral cancer, and controls. We also wished to determine the TTV genotypes in HNCC patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  A seminested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplifying the N22 region of the TTV genome, as well as direct sequencing of PCR fragments, was used.
  
  
  RESULTS
  TTV prevalence was higher in HNCC patients (saliva: 27/71, 38%; tumor biopsy: 22/74, 30%) than in controls (saliva: 8/56, 14%; oral mucosa: 1/19, 5%). TTV prevalence was also high in patients with premalignant lesions of oral carcinoma (saliva: 9/18, 50%; biopsy: 5/21, 24%). By phylogenetic analysis, TTV belonging mostly to genotypes 1 and 2 was found in HNCC patients. In most of the cases, identical TTV strains were present in the biopsy and salivary sample of the same HNCC patient. In addition, the same TTV strain was detected in 2 laryngeal carcinoma biopsies obtained from 2 independent patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data are compatible with the idea that TTV might act as a cocarcinogen in certain cases of HNCC. Alternatively, HNCC may facilitate either TTV replication or TTV entry into the saliva.
authors.affiliation: Division of Virology, National Center for Epidemiology, Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hettmann
authors.forename: Anett
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Demcsák
authors.forename: Ádám
authors.initials: Á
authors.lastname: Bach
authors.forename: Gábor
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Decsi
authors.forename: Ágnes
authors.initials: Á
authors.lastname: Dencs
authors.forename: Dóra
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pálinkó
authors.forename: László
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rovó
authors.forename: Katalin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nagy
authors.forename: Janos
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Minarovits
authors.forename: Mária
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takács
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001706:Biopsy; D004266:DNA Virus Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004279:DNA, Viral; D005260:Female; D016679:Genome, Viral; D005838:Genotype; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D007822:Laryngeal Neoplasms / Q000821:virology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000821:virology; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015995:Prevalence; D012463:Saliva / Q000821:virology*; D012469:Salivary Glands / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D022783:Torque teno virus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral