Detection of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in oral smears from healthy individuals and patients with squamous cell carcinoma.

To assess the presence of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA in normal oral mucosa, as well as its relationship to age, sex and different sites in the oral cavity, oral smears from healthy adults were investigated using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Smears taken from oral cancer patients were also examined using the same method. Sixty healthy volunteers (30 men and 30 women) were selected and divided equally into three age groups. Four cytologic samples were taken from each subject using a cytobrush. Smears from 20 patients with oral cancer were taken from similar sites and from the lesion. The Bam W region of EBV DNA was chosen as the specific genome for PCR amplification. Fifteen out of 60 healthy individuals (25%) showed EBV positivity. Of these, seven were men and eight were women. There were no significant differences between the three age groups nor between the four sites of oral mucosa. Our results also showed that EBV DNA could be identified in 10 out of 20 oral cancer patients (50%), though in only 7 (35%) of the lesions. Taken into account with the age of the patients, these findings indicate that EBV infection in the oral cavity does not appear to be directly associated with the pathogenesis of oral squamous cell carcinoma.