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Aims: To detect the presence of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA in different sources of materials from a matched group of patients with oral lichen planus (OLP) and a group of people without OLP lesions, and to correlate the presence of virus with epidemiological variables of the groups studied., Methods: Fresh tissue samples, saliva, exfoliated cells and plasma of 24 patients with OLP lesions (cases) and 17 patients without OLP lesions (controls) were collected. EBV was detected by nested PCR., Results: Viral positivity was obtained in 62.5% of tissue samples; in 70.8% of exfoliated cell samples; in 33.3% of blood plasma samples and in 75% of saliva samples in the cases; and in 35.3% of tissue samples; 82.4% of exfoliated cell samples; in 47.1% of blood plasma samples and in 64.7% of saliva samples in the controls. There was a predominance of women in both groups. Variables not atrophic-erosive were most affected by EBV., Conclusions: No relationship between EBV and OLP was found. However, all sources tested in this study were considered suitable for the detection of viruses., (Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/)

Objectives: Dysregulation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis has been observed in patients with cancer. This cross-sectional study investigated whether patients with oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) show changes in cortisol levels in saliva and plasma compared with three control groups, and evaluated its correlation with clinicopathological data., Methods: Salivary and plasma cortisol levels of 34 patients with oral SCC were compared with hormonal levels of 17 oropharyngeal SCC patients, 17 oral leukoplakia patients, 27 smokers and/or drinkers and 25 healthy volunteers. Multivariate analysis was used to evaluate the impact of clinical variables on the cortisol levels., Results: The plasma (p<0.05) and salivary (p<0.01) cortisol levels were significantly higher in patients with oral SCC compared with all groups. Patients with oropharyngeal SCC had higher levels of salivary cortisol compared with smokers and/or drinkers (p<0.05) and patients with leukoplakia (p<0.01). Patients with advanced-stage oral SCC showed significantly higher levels of cortisol than those in an initial clinical stage. Men with oral SCC had higher salivary cortisol levels than women (p<0.05). Age, smoking, alcohol consumption, presence of teeth and awareness of cancer diagnosis had no significant effect on cortisol levels., Conclusions: These results indicate a dysregulation of cortisol secretion in patients with oral cancer and suggest that this hormone can be a biomarker associated with the disease's clinical status.