HPV-positive/p16-positive/EBV-negative nasopharyngeal carcinoma in white North Americans.
BACKGROUND
Human papillomavirus (HPV) has been detected in keratinizing nasopharyngeal carcinomas (NPCs); however, the relationship between HPV and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) among whites with nonkeratinizing NPCs remains unclear. The HPV, p16, and EBV status was examined in current University of Michigan patients with NPC.


METHODS
From 2003 to 2007, 89 patients, 84 with oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) and 5 with NPC, were enrolled in an organ-sparing trial. Biopsy tissues from all 89 patients were evaluated for HPV and p16 expression. A separate HPV analysis of the 84 OPC patients is in progress. Among the patients with NPC, tumor tissue was also analyzed for EBV-encoded RNA (EBER).


RESULTS
Five of 89 patients (5.6%) had NPC, all with nonkeratinizing histology. The 4 white patients with NPC were HPV(+) (subtype-16, subtype-18 [2 patients], and subtype-59)/p16(+)/EBER(-). One Asian patient with NPC had an HPV(-)/p16(-)/EBER(+) NPC tumor that developed distant metastases.


CONCLUSIONS
We postulate that HPV may be the etiologic factor in some EBV-negative, nonkeratinizing NPCs among whites.
Maxwell
Jessica H
JH
University of Michigan Medical School, The University of Michigan Health System and Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Kumar
Bhavna
B
Feng
Felix Y
FY
McHugh
Jonathan B
JB
Cordell
Kitrina G
KG
Eisbruch
Avraham
A
Worden
Francis P
FP
Wolf
Gregory T
GT
Prince
Mark E
ME
Moyer
Jeffrey S
JS
Teknos
Theodoros N
TN
Chepeha
Douglas B
DB
Stoerker
Jay
J
Walline
Heather
H
Carey
Thomas E
TE
Bradford
Carol R
CR
D000368:Aged; D044466:Asian People; D001706:Biopsy; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D020031:Epstein-Barr Virus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human; D006801:Humans; D008824:Michigan; D008875:Middle Aged; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D027383:Papillomaviridae / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D030361:Papillomavirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization; D044465:White People