The role of human papilloma virus and herpes viruses in the etiology of nasal polyposis.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the etiological role of human papilloma virus (HPV), herpes simplex virus (HSV), varicella-zoster virus (VZV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), cytomegalovirus (CMV), and human herpes virus-6 (HHV-6) and -7 (HHV-7) in the occurrence of nasal polyposis.

Methods: Nasal polyp samples from 30 patients with nasal polyposis and normal nasal mucosa from 10 patients without nasal polyps were obtained. DNA was extracted from tissues. Real-time polymerase chain reaction was performed for all runs.

Results: No HSV-1, HSV-2, or VZV was detected in the samples. Among the patient samples, EBV and HHV-7 DNA were detected in 18 (60%), HHV-6 was detected in 20 (66.7%), and HPV was detected in 4 (13.3%) samples. Among the controls, CMV DNA was positive in one (10%). EBV was positive in 5 (50%), HHV-6 and HHV-7 were positive in 7 (70%), and HPV was positive in 2 (20%) samples. No significant difference was found among the groups with any test in terms of positivity.

Conclusions: The association of Herpesviridae and HPV with the pathogenesis of nasal polyps was investigated in this study and no relationship was found. Thus, these viruses do not play a significant role in the formation of nasal polyps.