Emerging Oncogenic Viruses in Head and Neck Cancers from Romanian Patients

Ramona Gabriela Ursu,Nicolae Ghetu,Victor Vlad Costan,Ovidiu Stamatin,Luminita Smaranda Iancu,Elena Porumb-Andrese,Octavian Dragos Palade,Ionut Luchian,Costin Damian

doi:10.3390/app11199356

Abstract

(1) Background: Head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs) are some of the most frequent malignancies globally. Oncogenic viruses MCPyV, EBV and HPVs are recognized to be related to HNSCCs and skin cancers. There are no data from Romania regarding the involvement of herpes viruses and polyomaviruses in these types of cancer. We aim to evaluate the association of oncogenic viruses from Papillomaviridae, Herpesviridae, and Polyomaviridae families in HNSCCs and skin cancers. (2) Methods: A total of 26 fresh tumors (6/26 women) were tested for 67 viral agents using a multiplex PCR genotyping assay. (3) Results: A total of 23/26 (88.5%) samples were positive for one or more viruses. All the tested tumors were negative for any HPV (alpha or beta types). In total, we detected as positive samples: 16 (61.63%) EBV1, 12 (46.15%) HHV7, 8 (30.76%) MCV, 6 (23.07%) CMV and HHV6, 2 (7.69%) HHV8, 1 (3.8%) HPyV6 and EBV2. (4) Conclusions: We detected HPV-negative cases that are HPyV and HHV positive. In these fractions of HPV-negative HNSCCs cases, other oncogenic viruses may be involved, such as EBV1, MCV or CMV. Additional research is required for clarifying the natural history of these viruses in HNSCCs, as virus detection would have a decisive impact on diagnostic and decisional algorithms.

Highlights

Cancer cases are one of the most important cause of death in the EU, with 3.5 million new cases diagnosed each year, leading to 1.3 million deaths
The carcinogenetic role of some viruses has been well stated by International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) monographs: Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) and Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) have a well-established role in liver carcinogenesis, Epstein–Barr Virus (EBV) is known to be responsible for Burkitt lymphoma in parallel with some co-factors, high risk types of HPV are associated with cervical cancer
Polyomaviruses are analyzed in association with some cancers: Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCV) was first identified in Merkel cell carcinoma, and the primary site of productive BK polyomavirus replication is the kidney [6]

Summary

Introduction

Cancer cases are one of the most important cause of death in the EU, with 3.5 million new cases diagnosed each year, leading to 1.3 million deaths. The estimated age-standardized incidence rates in 2020, for hypopharynx, larynx, lip, oral cavity, both sexes, all ages in Romania were 13.0 ASR, being the third highest in Europe, and for non-melanoma skin cancer was 7.3 ASR (World), in 25th place in Europe [2,3,4]. These updated data, which are available on the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)—Global Cancer. The number of known human PyV species has increased rapidly, from two species (JCPyV and BKPyV) detected in 1971, to 13–14 species reported since 2007 Most of these viruses were isolated from nasal samples, skin, serum, or stool samples. Polyomaviruses are analyzed in association with some cancers: Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCV) was first identified in Merkel cell carcinoma, and the primary site of productive BK polyomavirus replication is the kidney [6]

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