Manosha Lakmali Perera*, Irosha Rukmali Perera, Ranjith Lal Kandewatte
Head and Neck Cancers (HNSCCs) are established as looming public health challenge and health economic burden as the 8th most common cancer type according to a 2020 global estimation. Of them, Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC) ranks as the number 1 histologically diagnosed type of oral malignancy with 90%-95% prevalence across the globe. The geographic and population specificity is common in oral cancer patients as well as patients infected with the Kaposi’s Sarcoma-Associated Herpes Virus (KSHV). Hence, KSHV infections among immunosuppressive patients are higher in endemic areas than in non-endemic areas. Moreover, KSHV associated carcinomas are common among patients suffering from Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Here we hypothesized that immunosuppression in oral cancer patients could elevate the transcription and active transmission of oncogenic γ-herpes viruses in oral cancer patients. The present study aimed to link the Kaposi’s Sarcoma- Associated Herpes Virus (KSHV) in a group of male oral squamous cell carcinoma patients with established risk factors in non-endemic Sri Lanka. Incisional biopsies of cases and excisional biopsies of controls were collected, transported, stored, and dispatched as frozen tissues at -800°C. Then, DNA extraction from frozen specimens was done using Gentra Puregene Tissue kit (Qiagen, Germany), solid tissue protocol strictly adhering to the manufacturer’s instructions. Then, real-time PCR technology was used to diagnose KSHV infection in these OSCC cases and FEP controls. The specific KSHV DNA fragment was not detected in 22 OSCC cases and 29 FEP control samples. Thus, a link between KSHV and oral cancer patients with established risk factors in non-endemic Sri Lanka was not found.