Case Report
Year : 2017 | Volume : 1 | Issue : 2 | Page : 81 - 83
Cancerous Tonsillar Hypertrophy caused by Human Papilloma Virus
Ramiya Ramachandran Kaipuzha, Satvinder Singh Bakshi, Suriyanarayanan Gopalakrishnan, A Govindarajan
Department of ENT and Head and Neck Surgery, Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute, Puducherry, India
Address for correspondence:
Dr. Satvinder Singh Bakshi,
E‐mail: saty.bakshi@gmail.com
Abstract
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is associated with the development of most anogenital carcinomas, including cervical cancer and has more recently been suggested to be a risk factor for a subset of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. The prevalence of HPV in normal oral mucosa ranges from 0.6% to 81%. A 15‐year‐old female presented with complaints of chronically progressive pain on swallowing since 3 years. Examination revealed bilateral Grade III tonsillar enlargement with multiple warty appearances over the surface of the tonsils. Subsequently, she underwent tonsillectomy, and histopathologic study revealed tonsillar crypts lined by stratified squamous epithelium with focal koilocytic changes. PCR study detected HPV 11 DNA. The presence of HPV in the oral cavity and upper respiratory tract mucosa is of great importance since several studies have demonstrated an association of HPV with a great variety of benign and malignant lesions. The easy access to the tonsillar crypts and the favorable microenvironmental factors of the crypts may be causes of the high prevalence of HPV in nongenital regions. A rare case of benign papillomatosis of the tonsil is presented. The need for a long‐term follow‐up is highlighted to study the possibility and risk factors for malignant transformation.
Keywords: Chronic tonsillitis, human papillomavirus, tonsillectomy
Financial support and sponsorship
Nil.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
How to cite this article:
Kaipuzha RR, Bakshi SS, Gopalakrishnan S, Govindarajan A. Cancerous tonsillar hypertrophy caused by human papilloma virus. Int J Orofac Biol 2017;1:81-83.
