Gnathic and peripheral ameloblastomas lack human papillomavirus DNA

Human papillomavirus (HPV) has been associated with a variety of head and neck neoplasms, including squamous cell carcinomas and Schneiderian papillomas. Ameloblastomas can arise from either the gnathic bones or peripheral soft tissues. Peripheral sinonasal ameloblastomas share clinical features with Schneiderian papillomas. A small number of reports have described detection of HPV DNA within ameloblastomas. However, Most of these cases was reported in the 1990s, used the polymerase chain reaction technique, and only examined gnathic tumors. The current study was designed to determine whether low- or high-risk HPV DNA could be detected in gnathic or peripheral ameloblastomas using in situ hybridization. Twenty-nine examples of gnathic osseous and peripheral head and neck ameloblastomas were obtained from the authors' archives (University of Virginia and the Johns Hopkins Hospital). High-risk HPV DNA was not detected in any of the 29 tumors analyzed. Low-risk HPV DNA was identified in only 1 tumor, which was peripheral in origin, and from an immunocompromised patient. We believe that the HPV in this case represents a background "passenger" infection. This study demonstrates that HPV of either high- or low-risk subtypes is unlikely to play a role in the pathogenesis of sinonasal ameloblastomas.