Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpes virus (KSHV) does not imply the vast majority of Sri Lankan oral cancer patients

Abstract

Abstract One study on Sri Lankan oral cancer patients and healthy individuals suggested Sri Lanka as a non-endemic country for KSHV with low seroprevalence, without recording at least the oral risk habits of the patients. This made a research question; does Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpes virus (KSHV) imply the vast majority of Sri Lankan oral cancer patients? Thus, the present study aimed at the status of HHV-8 DNA in a subsample of the vast majority of Sri Lankan oral cancer patients. Ethical clearance and written consent from the participants were obtained. Incisional biopsies of hits to pathologically confirmed cases were collected, transported, stored, dispatched and restored as frozen tissues at -800 C. The DNA was extracted from frozen specimens using Gentra Puregene Tissue kit (Qiagen, Germany), solid tissue protocol according to the manufacturer’s instructions. The real-time PCR was performed with the specific primers and adequate controls to detect HHV- 8 in these OSCC cases. Sociodemographic, Oral Hygiene Practices, Oral Hygiene Status, and Clinical and Oral Risk Habit data were obtained by a pre-tested interviewer-administered questionnaire and were entered and analyzed using the SPSS-21 Statistical Package. HHV-8 DNA was not detected in 29 OSCC cases. Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpes virus (KSHV) does not imply the vast majority of Sri Lankan oral cancer patients. Powered studies are recommended.