title: Human papillomavirus predicts the outcome following concomitant chemoradiotherapy in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinomas.
abstract: We investigated the prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) in a clinical series of 72 patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) using a retrospective and prospective study design. The majority of patients were smokers and/or drinkers and were treated with concomitant chemoradiotherapy (CCR). Furthermore, we assessed the impact of HPV positivity on the response to CCR. Paraffin-embedded samples from HNSCC patients (n=72) were evaluated for the presence of HPV DNA using both GP5+/GP6+ consensus PCR and type-specific E6/E7 PCR to detect HPV types 6, 11, 16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 53, 56, 58, 59, 66, 67 and 68. The type-specific E6/E7 PCR demonstrated that 20 out of 69 HNSCC patients (29%) presented with high-risk (HR) HPV types and that 5 of the 69 HNSCC patients (7%) presented with low-risk (LR) HPV types. Using the GP5+/GP6+ PCR, we observed that the rate of response was statistically lower in the HPV+ group (P=0.02). Concerning patient outcomes in terms of recurrence and survival, we observed that the prognosis was poorer for HPV+ patients. We showed for the first time that patients with HPV+ HNSCC present with a worse prognosis after CCR. This observation highlights the need for prospective studies with large numbers of patients and a detailed history of tobacco and alcohol consumption before validating HPV as a marker of prognosis following CCR.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, University of Mons, Mons, Belgium.
authors.forename: Anaëlle
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Duray
authors.forename: Géraldine
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Descamps
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Decaestecker
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sirtaine
authors.forename: André
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gilles
authors.forename: Mohamad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Khalifé
authors.forename: Gilbert
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Chantrain
authors.forename: Christophe E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Depuydt
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Delvenne
authors.forename: Sven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Saussez
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D061067:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016190:Carboplatin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000821:virology; D000068818:Cetuximab; D059248:Chemoradiotherapy; D002945:Cisplatin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D027383:Papillomaviridae; D030361:Papillomavirus Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000821:virology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D000077195:Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D061067:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized; D004279:DNA, Viral; D016190:Carboplatin; D000068818:Cetuximab; D002945:Cisplatin