Introduction Immunosuppressive drugs may lead some individuals to develop gingival overgrowth abnormalities, which may be associated with HPV infection.Objective This study investigated the frequency of HPV subtypes in renal transplant recipients (RTRs) and healthy volunteers (HC) to evaluate the influence of cyclosporine-induced (RT-GH+C) and tacrolimus-induced (RT+T) immunosuppression on oral lesions.Methods HPV-DNA were detected in gingival tissue and saliva using PCRRFLP and in situ hybridization. We included 68 RTRs patients and 44 HCs.Results HPV-DNA frequency in gingival tissue and saliva was 2.53- and 2.24-fold higher in RTRs compared to HC with HPV-16 being the most frequent subtype among RTRs. We observed a higher HPV frequency in RTRs using cyclosporine compared to HC group with periodontal disease (HC-PD). However, no significant difference was found in the HPV-DNA frequency between RTRs treated with tacrolimus and HC.Conclusion The high frequency of HPV infection observed in RTR patients using cyclosporine may be associated with the immunosuppression caused by this drug. However, since this is a cross-sectional study, the exposure and outcome are observed simultaneously; and therefore, they may not be related. In any case, we believe that oral lesions in these individuals should be monitored to prevent the development of malignant lesions, such as oral cancer.
Cossatis et al. (Sat,) studied this question.