title: Viral RNA patterns and high viral load reliably define oropharynx carcinomas with active HPV16 involvement.
abstract: Oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas (OPSCC) that are associated with human papilloma virus (HPV) infection carry a more favorable prognosis than those that are HPV-negative. However, it remains unclear which biomarker(s) can reliably determine which OPSCC specimens are truly driven by HPV infection. In this study, we analyzed 199 fresh-frozen OPSCC specimens for HPV DNA, viral load, RNA expression patterns typical for cervical carcinomas (CxCaRNA(+)), and the HPV-targeted tumor suppressor protein p16(INK4a) as markers for HPV infection. In this set of specimens, there was a 49% prevalence of DNA for the cancer-associated HPV type 16 (HPV(+)). However, there was only a 16% prevalence of high viral load and only a 20% prevalence of CxCaRNA(+), a marker of HPV16 carcinogenic activity. Among the CxCaRNA(+) tumors, 78% of the specimens exhibited overexpression of p16(INK4a), which also occurred in 14% of the HPV-negative tumors. Using a multivariate survival analysis with HPV negativity as the reference group, CxCaRNA(+) as a single marker conferred the lowest risk of death [HR = 0.28, 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.13-0.61] from oropharyngeal cancer, closely followed by high viral load (HR = 0.32, 95% CI, 0.14-0.73). In contrast, a weaker inverse association was found for OPSCC that were HPV(+) and p16(INK4a) high (HR = 0.55, 95% CI, 0.29-1.08). In summary, our findings argued that viral load or RNA pattern analysis is better suited than p16(INK4a) expression to identify HPV16-driven tumors in OPSCC patient populations.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Biology Laboratory, Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany. D.Holzinger@dkfz-heidelberg.de
authors.forename: Dana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Holzinger
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schmitt
authors.forename: Gerhard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dyckhoff
authors.forename: Axel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Benner
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pawlita
authors.forename: Franz X
authors.initials: FX
authors.lastname: Bosch
mesh_terms: D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000378:metabolism / Q000821:virology*; D019941:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p16 / Q000032:analysis; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D052162:Human papillomavirus 16 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009959:Oropharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000821:virology*; D030361:Papillomavirus Infections / Q000378:metabolism / Q000821:virology*; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D016019:Survival Analysis; D046888:Tissue Array Analysis; D019562:Viral Load
chemical_list: D019941:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p16; D004279:DNA, Viral; D012367:RNA, Viral