Abstract

Over the past two decades, many studies reported that around (20%) of the worldwide malignant tumors problem can be related to viral infections. Some publications recently have described a relationship between malignant colorectal tumors and human papilloma virus (HPV), but these findings are still debatable. The purpose of this report is to evaluate the existence of the genetic sequences and the proteins of HPV in the transformed cells of colorectal cancer in Saudi Arabia. Extracted DNA from eighty three archival colorectal tumor samples were examined for HPV DNA types 16 and 18 and their protein products using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique in addition to immunohistochemical staining. All colorectal cancer and control cases were found negative for both 16 and 18 HPV types by using PCR. Moreover, immunostaining did not detect any nuclear expression of HPV proteins in all examined cases. Our outcomes supports the statement that HPV is not engaged in the initiation and progression of colorectal carcinomas especially in the Western province of Saudi Arabia.

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