title: Clinical and molecular characteristics of HNSCC patients with brain metastases: a retrospective study.
abstract: Among the metastasis patterns of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), intracranial spread is a rare but dreaded event. To date only very few cases have been reported and clinical and molecular data are sparse. We screened our archives for HNSCC patients from 1992 to 2005 who were diagnosed with brain metastases (BM). For retrospective analysis, all clinico-pathological data including disease-free survival (DFS), local progression-free survival (LPFS), and overall survival (OS) were compiled. Additionally, we assessed the mutational status of the TP53 gene and the prevalence of HPV serotypes by PCR and Sanger sequencing. Immunohistochemistry was applied to detect p16INK4A expression levels as surrogate marker for HPV infection. The prevalence rate of BM in our cohort comprising 193 patients with advanced HNSCC was 5.7%. Of 11 patients with BM, 3 were female and 9 were male. Seven of the primary tumors were of oropharyngeal origin (OPSCC). LPFS of the cohort was 11.8 months, DFS was 12.1 months and OS was 36.0 months. After the diagnosis of BM, survival was 10.5 months. Five tumors showed a mutation in the TP53 gene, while five of the seven OPSCC tumors had a positive HPV status displaying infection with serotype 16 in all cases. Compared with patients who harbored TP53wt/HPV-positive tumors, patients with TP53 mutations showed a poor prognosis. Compared with the whole cohort, the interval between diagnosis of the primary and the detection of BM was prolonged in the HPV-infected OPSCC subgroup (26.4 vs. 45.6 months). The prognosis of HNSCC patients with BM is poor. In our cohort, most tumors were OPSCC with the majority being HPV positive. Our study points toward a putatively unusual metastatic behavior of HPV-positive OPSCC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 400, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany, ocbulut@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Olcay Cem
authors.initials: OC
authors.lastname: Bulut
authors.forename: Katja
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lindel
authors.forename: Henrik
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hauswald
authors.forename: Regine
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Brandt
authors.forename: Frederick
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Klauschen
authors.forename: Janina
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wolf
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wolf
authors.forename: Peter K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Plinkert
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Simon
authors.forename: Wilko
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Weichert
authors.forename: Albrecht
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stenzinger
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000556:secondary*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000235:genetics / Q000556:secondary* / Q000821:virology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D016158:Genes, p53 / Q000235:genetics*; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology* / Q000821:virology; D052162:Human papillomavirus 16 / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009959:Oropharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D030361:Papillomavirus Infections / Q000821:virology; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral