Association between human polyomaviruses and keratinocyte carcinomas: A prospective cohort study

Menée aux Etats-Unis auprès de 1 008 participants de l'étude "VIRUSCAN" (âge médian : 68 ans ; durée de suivi : 4 ans), cette étude analyse l'association entre une infection par le polyomavirus de Merkel et le risque de carcinome d'origine kératinocytaire

Résumé en anglais

Background: A positive association between Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV) infection and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cuSCC) has been observed in at least one previous case-control study. To evaluate this association in a prospective context, we investigated infections with human polyomaviruses (HPyV), including MCPyV, as predictors of keratinocyte carcinomas (KC), including cuSCC and basal cell carcinoma (BCC), among a cohort of immunocompetent individuals enrolled in the Viruses in Skin Cancer (VIRUSCAN) Study.

Methods: Associations between markers of baseline HPyV infection (serum antibodies and viral DNA in eyebrow hairs and skin swabs) and incident KC were modeled using Cox proportional hazards regression. Proportions of baseline HPyV infections that were concordant with a subsequent tumor positive for the same HPyV type were assessed.

Results: No significant associations were observed between baseline markers of MCPyV or other HPyV infections and cuSCC or BCC. Less than 4.5% of baseline MCPyV infections were also detected in subsequently developed KC tumors.

Conclusions: HPyV infection was not a predictor of KC risk in this prospective cohort.

Impact: Cancer-associated infections represent attractive targets for cancer prevention, however, HPyV infections have limited potential as novel targets for cuSCC prevention.