Abstract
BACKGROUND: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) accounts for 90% of all primary oral malignancies. Association between human papillomavirus (HPV) as a risk factor of cervical cancer is well known; there is a need to widen the knowledge for its role in oral cancer development. The viral E6 protein of HPV binds to p53 making it nonfunctional. AIMS AND OBJECTIVE: To study mutated/wild type p53 expression using immunohistochemistry and detect HPV-16 presence using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), in OSCC and correlating their expression. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Immunohistochemical staining for p53 molecule in 24 sections of OSCC followed by DNA extraction of the cases using qiagen extraction kit and subsequent HPV-16 detection using PCR technique. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: The data were analysed using SPSS software version 19. RESULTS: Out of 24 cases of OSCC, twenty cases were positive for P 53 expression and four cases were negative for P 53 expression. Out of the four negative cases, one case was detected positive for HPV-16. CONCLUSION: HPV infection along with p53 expression helps in understanding its exact pathogenesis which further helps in expanding our spectrum of therapeutic modalities.