In pediatrics with chronic palatine and pharyngeal tonsillitis and undergoing non-oncologic tonsillectomies, significant rates of HPV 6/11 are found in the tonsillar tissues. Furthermore, tonsils may serve as potential reservoirs for HPV transmission and pathogenesis.

This study aimed to investigate the presence of human papillomavirus (HPV) 6/11 genotypes in tonsillar specimens obtained from children (age 4 to 12 years) undergoing non-oncologic palatine and pharyngeal tonsillectomies.

In this prospective case-control research, a total of 102 tonsillar tissues were examined. This included eighty-two from pediatrics undergoing tonsil surgeries for non-oncologic palatine and pharyngeal tonsillar hypertrophies. Among these, thirty-eight specimens were from single operations. On the other hand, twenty-two were multiple specimens from the same pediatrics (accounting for 44 tissues in total). Furthermore, nasal tissues from twenty participants without pathological alterations served as the control group. HPV 6/11 DNA detection was performed utilizing specific DNA probes with the chromogenic in situ hybridization (CISH) technique.

In terms of HPV 6/11 DNA, positive signals of CISH were detected in 26.2% of palatine tonsillar hypertrophied tissues. For pharyngeal tonsillar hypertrophied tissues, the value was 22.5%. Among the pediatrics who underwent combined pharyngeal and palatine tonsillectomies, nearly 22.7% exhibited positive signals in both sites. No positive CISH reactions were witnessed in the control nasal tissues, indicating a clinically significant difference in comparison with the study groups.

The significant prevalence of HPV suggested its potential spread, along with other sexually transmitted infections, possibly from mothers to the studied pediatric group. Moreover, these findings highlighted tonsillar tissues as reservoir sites for HPV, facilitating transmission to other mucosal tissue sites and contributing to their pathogenesis.