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Background: Laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) represents one of the principal tumors of the head and neck. Human papillomavirus (HPV) and Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) are considered risk factors for the development and the clinical prognosis of LSCC. High levels of p16INK4a are suggested as a surrogate marker of HPV or EBV infection in some head and neck tumors but in LSCC is still controversial. Furthermore, pRb expression may be considered an additional biomarker but it has not been clearly defined. This work aimed to compare the expression of pRb and p16INK4a as possible biomarkers in tumor tissues with and without infection by EBV or different genotypes of HPV from patients with LSCC. Methods: Tumor samples from 103 patients with LSCC were previously investigated for the presence and genotypes of HPV using the INNO-LiPA line probe assay and for the infection of EBV by qPCR. p16 INK4a and pRb expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry. Results: Of the 103 tumor samples, expression of p16INK4a was positive in 55 (53.4%) and of this, 32 (56.1%) were positive for HPV whereas 11 (39.3%) were EBV positive but both without a significantly difference (p > 0.05). pRb expression was positive in 78 (75.7%) and a higher frequency of this expression was observed in HPV negative samples (87.0%) (p = 0.021) and in high-risk HPV negative samples (85.2%) (p = 0.010). No difference was observed when comparing pRb expression and EBV infection status (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Our results support the suggestion that p16INK4a is not a reliable surrogate marker for identifying HPV or EBV infection in LSCC. On the other hand, most of our samples had pRb expression, which was more frequent in tumors without HPV, suggesting that pRb could indicate HPV negativity. However, more studies with a larger number of cases are required, including controls without LSCC and evaluating other molecular markers to determine the real role of p16INK4a and pRb in LSCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although Helicobacter Pylori (HP) was detected in some cases of chronic laryngitis, the results were not confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). By this time, it has not been found in laryngeal lesions by in house PCR, the most sensitive method for detecting the genome tracks. Regarding the previous results and also few numbers of studies about the presence of HP in benign laryngeal lesions, specifically by PCR, we aimed to investigate the presence of HP in benign laryngeal lesions by in-house PCR.Methods: The samples were taken from 55 patients with benign laryngeal lesions and frozen in -20°C. One milliliter (ml) of lysis buffer was added to 100 mg (mg) of each sample and the tube was placed in 56°C overnight.Then DNA extraction was carried out.Results: To find HP DNA, in-house PCR was performed that revealed 5 positive results among 55 patients with benign laryngeal lesions. Of them, 3 were polyp, 1 was nodule and 1 was papilloma.Conclusion: Although the number of positive results was not a lot in this study, it was in contrast with previous studies which could not find any HP tracks in benign laryngeal lesions by other methods. More studies about the prevalence of HP in benign laryngeal lesions improve judging about the effect of this infection on benign laryngeal lesions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]