[The relation between human papilloma virus and cellular DNA content in epidermoid carcinoma of the head and neck].

The relation between the presence of gene sequences of human papilloma virus (HPV) and the development of abnormalities in cellular DNA content was analyzed in 31 squamous-cell carcinomas of the head and neck. The integration of HPV types 16 and 6b by PCR and DNA content was studied by flow cytometry in 31 specimens from patients with squamous-cell carcinoma of the head and neck. Eighteen (58%) cases were aneuploid. HPV DNA was present in seven tumors (22.5%), five of then HPV-6b and two of them HPV-16. Aneuploidy correlated with poorly differentiated tumors. No correlation was found between HPV integration and either cellular DNA content or the degree of histological tumor differentiation. Therefore, the presence of HPV gene sequences did not seem to be associated with a higher incidence of aneuploidy in squamous-cell carcinoma of the head and neck.