β-HPV Does Not Increase Risk for Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Investigators found no role for low-risk human papillomavirus strains in cutaneous SCC.

The causal role of high-risk α-HPV (including human papillomaviruses [HPVs] 16 and 18) in cervical and anogenital squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is well established; it involves viral integration into the host genome and expression of viral oncoproteins that abrogate p53 and retinoblastoma (RB1) gene function. The relation between sporadic cutaneous SCC (cSCC) and β-HPV has been studied extensively. However, β-HPVs are found in normal skin; no evidence shows that they integrate into host DNA; proteins expressed by these HPVs do not behave like those expressed by high-risk α-HPVs; and, until now, it was unclear whether HPV genes were even transcribed in cSCC.

These authors investigated whether β-HPV gene expression is necessary for the mainten…

Reviewing Author

Kenneth Y. Tsai, MD, PhD

Disclosures

Grant / Research support American Association for Cancer Research – Landon Foundation; National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute; Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas

Editorial BoardsJournal of the American Academy of Dermatology

Kenneth Y. Tsai, MD, PhD

Disclosures

Grant / Research support American Association for Cancer Research – Landon Foundation; National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute; Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas

Editorial BoardsJournal of the American Academy of Dermatology

β-HPV Does Not Increase Risk for Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma

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Reviewing Author