Introduction & Objective: Nowadays, epidemiological and experimental evidences in western countries consistently support an etiological role for human papillomavirus (HPV) in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). The role of HPV in the etiology of head and neck SCC in developing countries such as Iran has not been investigated. The purpose of the present study was to investigate HPV DNA in the head and neck cancer by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in patients referred to Imam Khomeini Hospital Ahwaz.

Materials & Methods: In this prospective cross sectional study 176 patients with SCC of head and neck who admitted in Ahwaz Imam Khomeini Hospital were evaluated with PCR for HPV DNA and compared to 176 control samples with benign pathology.

Results: In this study 7 specimens (3.97%) of the case group were positive for HPV DNA that include HPV 16(3 cases) ,18(2 cases) ,57(1 case), 33 (1case) and only 1 specimen (0.57%) of the control group was positive that include HPV 6 ( P value<0.001).

Conclusion: This study demonstrates the presence of HPVs in the SCC of head and neck. Further studies are needed to evaluate larger population in Ahwaz for the presence and types of HPV.