The American journal of surgical pathology
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Am. J. Surg. Pathol. · Dec 2012
Detection of transcriptionally active high-risk HPV in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma as visualized by a novel E6/E7 mRNA in situ hybridization method.
Evidence for transcriptional activation of the viral oncoproteins E6 and E7 is regarded as the gold standard for the presence of clinically relevant human papillomavirus (HPV), but detection of E6/E7 mRNA requires RNA extraction and polymerase chain reaction amplification-a challenging technique that is restricted to the research laboratory. The development of RNA in situ hybridization (ISH) probes complementary to E6/E7 mRNA permits direct visualization of viral transcripts in routinely processed tissues and has opened the door for accurate HPV detection in the clinical care setting. Tissue microarrays containing 282 head and neck squamous cell carcinomas from various anatomic subsites were tested for the presence of HPV using p16 immunohistochemistry, HPV DNA ISH, and an RNA ISH assay (RNAscope) targeting high-risk HPV E6/E7 mRNA transcripts. ⋯ For the selected group of discordant HNSCCs (p16/HPV DNA), the presence of E6/E7 transcripts was detected in 21 of 25 (84%) cases. The E6/E7 mRNA method confirmed the presence of transcriptionally active HPV-related HNSCC that has a strong predilection for the oropharynx and is strongly associated with high levels of p16 expression. Testing for HPV E6/E7 transcripts by RNA ISH is ideal because it confirms the presence of integrated and transcriptionally active virus, permits visualization of viral transcripts in tissues, and is technically feasible for routine testing in the clinical laboratory.