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Laboratory science
Original article
Prevalence of high-risk human papillomavirus genotypes in retinoblastoma
  1. Bhuvaneswari Anand1,
  2. C Ramesh2,
  3. L Appaji3,
  4. B S Aruna Kumari3,
  5. A M Shenoy4,
  6. Nanjundappa4,
  7. R S Jayshree5,
  8. Rekha V Kumar1
  1. 1Department of Pathology, Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology, Bangalore, Karnataka, India
  2. 2Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology, Bangalore, Karnataka, India
  3. 3Department of Paediatric Oncology, Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology, Bangalore, Karnataka, India
  4. 4Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology, Bangalore, Karnataka, India
  5. 5Department of Microbiology, Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology, Bangalore, Karnataka, India
  1. Correspondence to Professor Rekha V Kumar, #119, Department of Pathology, Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology, Dr. M.H. Marigowda Road, Bangalore 560 029, Karnataka, India; rekha_v_kumar{at}yahoo.co.in

Abstract

Background The human papillomavirus (HPV) is an important aetiological agent in cancer but its involvement in retinoblastomas (RBs) is controversial.

Methods 64 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue blocks and 19 fresh-frozen specimens were subjected to multiplex PCR using PGMY09/11 primers, HPV genotyping, non-isotopic in situ hybridisation and immunohistochemistry for pRb and p16INK4a.

Results 24% of RBs contained HPV DNA. 90% of HPV genotypes were of high-risk (HR) type and 10% were of intermediate-risk (IR) type. HR HPVs 45, 59, 68 and 52 were detected for the first time, as were IR HPVs 82 and 73. There was only one HPV 18-positive case. Interestingly, no low-risk genotypes were identified. Nine formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded HPV-positive cases showed nuclear HPV positivity by non-isotopic in situ hybridisation. Immunohistochemistry did not show pRb expression in 67% of cases. 34% expressed nuclear p16INK4a, of which 20 cases were also positive for HPV by multiplex PCR. A statistically significant association between HPV and pRb expression status was observed (p=0.0001).The association of HPV with p16INK4a expression was also statistically significant (p=0.0001).

Conclusions While the presence of HPV in a subset of RB was demonstrated, its role in carcinogenesis needs further elucidation.

  • Retinoblastoma
  • human papillomavirus
  • immunohistochemistry
  • in situ hybridisation
  • retina

https://doi.org/10.1136/bjo.2010.199802

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    Footnotes

    • RSJ and RVK contributed equally to this work.

    • Funding This work was funded by the Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi, India (Project No: 5/13/47/05/NCDIII).

    • Competing interests None.

    • Ethics approval Ethics approval was obtained from the Institute Ethics Committee, Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology, Bangalore, Karnataka, India.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.