Basaloid lesions of oral squamous epithelial cells and their association with HPV infection and P16 expression.

Abstract

This study revealed a high association between BSCC and HPV type 16. This close phenotype-genotype correlation could be of diagnostic value. Type-specific analysis of HPV infection in head and neck cancer may be important in the differential diagnosis of malignancies in the head and neck region with a basaloid growth pattern. However, the investigation is technically demanding, including hybridisation and sequencing techniques. A simplified test for HPV in BSCC of the oral cavity using the immunohistochemical proof of p16 expression as a surrogate marker is non-effective.