Prevalence of human papillomavirus and survival in oropharyngeal cancer other than tonsil or base of tongue cancer.
Today, most oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is human papillomavirus (HPV) positive and HPV alone or in combination with p16 is reported to be a favorable prognostic factor for OSCC. Patients with tumors at other OSCC sites (OOSCC) are often included in the same treatment and study protocols as patients with tonsillar- and base of tongue SCC, even though the prevalence and clinical significance of HPV infection in OOSCC is unknown. Since tonsillar and base of tongue SSC cover roughly 90% of all OSCC, there is an obvious risk that there may be a misinterpretation of the results for OOSCC. Herein, we therefore study the prevalence of HPV and p16 and their impact on survival in OOSCC. A total of 69 patients were included in the study, and 61 were included in the survival analysis. HPV and p16 were present in only 17% (12/69) and 25% (17/69) of the OOSCC cases, respectively, while the majority 69% (48/69) was both HPV and p16 negative. Neither HPV nor p16 had predictive value for clinical outcome in OOSCC in this study. In conclusion, the prevalence of HPV and/or p16 is much lower in OOSCC compared to earlier reports including all OSCC, or tonsillar- and base of tongue cancer alone and HPV and p16 had no impact on clinical outcome in OSCC in this study. Our data highlight the diversity of head neck cancer sub-sites and the importance of taking OSCC sub-sites in consideration in future clinical trials and treatment.
Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology, Department of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Karolinska University Hospital, Karolinska Institutet Stockholm, Sweden. linda.marklund@karolinska.se
Linda
L
Marklund
Anders
A
Näsman
Torbjörn
T
Ramqvist
Tina
T
Dalianis
Eva
E
Munck-Wikland
Lalle
L
Hammarstedt
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000821:virology*; D019941:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p16 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009959:Oropharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000821:virology*; D030361:Papillomavirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D015995:Prevalence; D011379:Prognosis; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology; D014062:Tongue Neoplasms / Q000821:virology; D014067:Tonsillar Neoplasms / Q000821:virology
D019941:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p16
HPV; HPV prevalence; oropharyngeal cancer; p16; survival