Abstract
Background: A recent intriguing carcinogenetic hypothesis for lung cancer foresees its viral aetiology. The human papilloma virus (HPV) is the main virus actually recognized in the pathogenesis of lung cancer. The aim of this study was to investigate, for the first time to our knowledge, the presence of HPV in the exhaled breath condensate (EBC) of lung cancer patients.
Material and methods: We enrolled 79 patients affected by lung cancer and 68 controls. HPV were investigated in their EBC and paired bronchial brushing through genotyping.
Results: We were able to detect HPV in the EBC and bronchial brushing. We described the presence of HPV infection in 16.4% of the subjects affected by non-small cell lung cancer, but in none of the controls. HPV 16 and 31 turned out to be the most widespread genotypes. The HPV positivity in airways as well as in the smoking habit was seen to independently increase the individual's susceptibility to developing lung cancer.
Conclusion: In conclusion, we demonstrated the possibility to identify an HPV infection in the EBC of lung cancer patients, and supported the notion that the EBC is a suitable tool to study airways colonization. Although further studies are needed to confirm our results, we retained the study of HPV in EBC very interesting in terms of future programs involving lung cancer screening.
- © 2011 ERS
