Human papillomavirus type 16 infection may be involved in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma carcinogenesis in Chinese Kazakh patients.

The aim of this study was to investigate human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) prevalence in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) in Xinjiang Kazakh patients and its role in ESCC carcinogenesis. One hundred and fifty cases of ESCC and 150 cases of corresponding normal esophageal mucosa (CNGM) samples were collected from north Xinjiang where the Kazakh ethnic group has lived since ancient times. HPV16 infection in ESCC and CNGM was detected by genotype-specific polymerase chain reaction. HPV16 DNA was detected in 55 of 150 ESCC samples (36.7%) and 24 of 150 corresponding normal esophageal mucosa samples (16%) with significant differences (P < 0.001, odds ratio = 3.039, 95% confidence interval: 1.756-5.260). No statistically significant correlations were found between HPV16 infection and the age or gender of patients, tumor site, tumor cell differentiation, or lymph node metastasis (P > 0.05). HPV16 infection is common in cases of ESCC in the Kazakh ethnic group in Xinjiang and may be involved in ESCC carcinogenesis.