Objectives: This study was designed to evaluate the frequency of human papilloma virus (HPV) infection in patients with laryngeal squameous cell carcinoma (LSCC) through identification of the viral DNA using PCR analysis and to determine the tissue levels of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) as a trial to find a relation between HPV infection, EGFR expression and clinicopathological findings in patients with LSCC.
Patients & Methods: The study comprised 32 patients with suspected LSCC; 25 males and 7 females; with mean age 53.3±12.2; range: 25-72 years. All females and 5 males were non-smokers; while 20 males were smokers. Patients were subjected to full history taking and clinical examination. Direct laryngoscopy was performed under light general anesthesia in the operating room for evaluation of the larynx and the entire upper aerodigestive tract for accurate clinical staging according to TNM classification, to determine the full extent of the local spread of the tumor and to obtain tissue biopsy. Fresh tumor tissue specimens were divided into two parts, the first was studied and graded pathologically according to World Health Organization (WHO) classification and the second was stored at -70oC until processed and examined by PCR technique for the presence of HPV-DNA and analyzed for EGFR expression expressed as femto-mol/mg (fM/mg) protein.
Results: Squameous cell carcinoma was detected in 29 cases (90.6%) and 3 cases were excluded off the study; 21 patients (72.4%) had lesions clinically staged as stage I, while 3 (10.3%) and 5 (17.3%) had lesions of stages II and III, respectively. Patients had Stage I lesions were significantly (p |
