Human papillomavirus type 16 DNA detected by the polymerase chain reaction in non-cancer tissues of the head and neck.

Cancer-free tissues from various anatomical subsites in the head and neck were examined by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the incidence of human papillomavirus (HPV) types 16 and 18. We detected HPV-16 DNA in 9 of 103 samples (8.7%), including specimens from the paranasal sinuses, tonsil, hypopharynx and larynx. However, no HPV-16/18 DNA was detected by Southern hybridization in these 9 samples. The significance of the presence of HPV-16 DNA in non-cancer tissues is still unknown, but PCR detection only of high-risk HPV DNA in head and neck cancer should be evaluated cautiously because of its ubiquity in this region.