A rapidly growing human papillomavirus‑positive oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma in a 21‑year old female: A case report

Appah,Ebenezer  O.; Ballard,Billy   Ray; Izban,Michael  G.; Jolin,Cassandra; Lammers,Philip   E.; Parrish,Dwight   D.; Marshall,Dana   R.

doi:10.3892/ol.2018.8339

May-2018 Volume 15 Issue 5

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May-2018 Volume 15 Issue 5

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Case Report Open Access

A rapidly growing human papillomavirus‑positive oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma in a 21‑year old female: A case report

Authors:
- Ebenezer O. Appah
- Billy Ray Ballard
- Michael G. Izban
- Cassandra Jolin
- Philip E. Lammers
- Dwight D. Parrish
- Dana R. Marshall
View Affiliations / Copyright

Affiliations: Department of Internal Medicine, Meharry Medical College, Nashville, TN 37208, USA, Department of Pathology, Anatomy and Cell Biology, Meharry Medical College, Nashville, TN 37208, USA, Department of Family and Community Medicine, Meharry Medical College, Nashville, TN 37208, USA

Copyright: © Appah et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.
Pages: 7702-7706
|
Published online on: March 23, 2018

https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2018.8339
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Abstract

Oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OTSCC) has a median age at diagnosis of 62 years. The incidence of OTSCC in young adults has been increasing, and the reason is unclear. The present study describes a case, and molecular analysis, of OTSCC in a 21‑year‑old female. Clinical and pathological information were collected from medical records. Formalin‑fixed paraffin‑embedded biopsy tissue from the patient was reassessed using standard hematoxylin & eosin staining, and immunohistochemistry was used to assess the expression of cellular p16, MutL homolog (MLH)1, MLH2, MutS homolog 6 (MSH6) and PMS1 homolog 2 (PMS2). The human papilloma virus (HPV) genome was detected by PCR analysis of the extracted DNA. The young age of the patient with OTSCC was unusual. The original pathology report indicated koilocytotic atypia, a cellular abnormality associated with HPV. Although HPV‑positive oral cancer tends to occur in ‘younger’ individuals, 21 years is unusual. The confirmation of biologically active HPV in the tumor was obtained via the observation of strong positive staining for cellular p16. The patient described a maternal family cluster of rare cancer types, thus the possibility that this rapidly growing cancer resulted from HPV infection combined with an underlying genetic mutation causing decreased DNA‑mismatch repair was explored. However, MSH1, MSH2, MSH6 and PSM2, proteins that are associated with Lynch Syndrome, were expressed at normal levels. A rapidly growing OTSCC of a 21‑year‑old female was determined to be HPV‑positive. The patient underwent combination chemotherapy and radiation and has experienced long‑term survival without recurrence. The reason this tumor grew so quickly in such a young individual remains unknown. These types of cases warrant additional genomic and proteomic studies to improve understanding of this phenomenon.

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Journals

International Journal of Molecular Medicine

International Journal of Oncology

Molecular Medicine Reports

Oncology Reports

Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine

Oncology Letters

Biomedical Reports

Molecular and Clinical Oncology

World Academy of Sciences Journal

International Journal of Functional Nutrition

International Journal of Epigenetics

Medicine International

A rapidly growing human papillomavirus‑positive oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma in a 21‑year old female: A case report

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