Oral cancer in children under 15 years of age. A clinicopathological and virological study.

11 malignant tumours of the oral region in children under 15 years of age were diagnosed in Finland during the 20-year period from 1961 to 1980; the age adjusted annual incidence rate being 0.31 per 1,000,000 children. 5 cases were intraoral cancer and 5 cases malignant tumours of the major salivary glands. The formalin-fixed tumours were studied using the in situ DNA hybridization technique for Adenovirus, group II, Epstein-Barr and human papillomavirus, type 16. For the first time, evidence was provided for the presence of Epstein-Barr virus in a malignant salivary gland tumour, implicating a possible etiological role for this virus in salivary gland neoplasms.