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, 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 keratinocyte carcinomas 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 keratinocyte carcinoma tumors. Conclusions: HPyV infection was not a predictor of keratinocyte carcinoma 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.

中文翻译：

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人类多瘤病毒与角质形成细胞癌之间的关联：一项前瞻性队列研究


背景：至少在之前的一项病例对照研究中观察到默克尔细胞多瘤病毒（MCPyV）感染与皮肤鳞状细胞癌（cuSCC）之间呈正相关。为了在前瞻性背景下评估这种关联，我们在参加皮肤病毒研究的一组免疫功能正常的个体中，研究了人类多瘤病毒 (HPyV)（包括 MCPyV）的感染，作为角化细胞癌（包括 cuSCC 和基底细胞癌 (BCC)）的预测因子癌症（VIRUSCAN）研究。方法：使用 Cox 比例风险回归对基线 HPyV 感染标志物（眉毛和皮肤拭子中的血清抗体和病毒 DNA）与角质形成细胞癌之间的关联进行建模。评估了与随后的相同 HPyV 类型肿瘤阳性一致的基线 HPyV 感染的比例。结果：MCPyV 或其他 HPyV 感染的基线标记物与 cuSCC 或 BCC 之间没有观察到显着关联。在随后发展的角化细胞癌肿瘤中也检测到了不到 4.5% 的基线 MCPyV 感染。结论：在该前瞻性队列中，HPyV 感染并不是角化细胞癌风险的预测因子。影响：癌症相关感染是癌症预防的有吸引力的目标；然而，HPyV 感染作为预防 cuSCC 的新靶点的潜力有限。