title: Human papillomavirus status and gene expression profiles of oropharyngeal and oral cancers from European American and African American patients.
abstract: Disparities in prevalence, human papillomavirus (HPV) status, and mortality rates for head and neck cancer have been described between African American and European American patients.
  
  
  
  We studied the HPV status and gene expression profiles in 56 oropharyngeal/oral cavity tumors and 9 normal tissue samples from European American and African American patients treated in South Carolina between 2010 and 2012.
  
  
  
  Overall, 59% of tumors were HPV DNA-positive, but only 48% of those expressed E7 mRNA (HPV-active). The prevalence of HPV-active tumors was 10% in African American patients and 39% in European American patients. Tumors positive for HPV DNA but negative for HPV mRNA exhibited gene expression profiles distinct from those of both HPV-active and HPV-negative cancers, suggesting that HPV DNA-positive/RNA-negative tumors may constitute a unique group.
  
  
  
  This study provides a direct assessment of differential expression patterns in HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer arising from African American and European American patients, for which there is a paucity of data. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 00: 000-000, 2015.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, South Carolina.
authors.forename: Swati
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tomar
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, South Carolina.
authors.forename: Christian A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Graves
authors.affiliation: Department of Drug Discovery and Biomedical Sciences, South Carolina College of Pharmacy, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina.
authors.forename: Diego
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Altomare
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, South Carolina.
authors.forename: Sangeeta
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kowli
authors.affiliation: Department of Drug Discovery and Biomedical Sciences, South Carolina College of Pharmacy, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina.
authors.forename: Susannah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kassler
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Medical University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina.
authors.forename: Natalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sutkowski
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina.
authors.forename: M Boyd
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Gillespie
authors.affiliation: Department of Drug Discovery and Biomedical Sciences, South Carolina College of Pharmacy, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina.
authors.forename: Kim E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Creek
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, South Carolina.
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pirisi
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American; D000368:Aged; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell; D004279:DNA, Viral; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000208:ethnology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000821:virology; D009959:Oropharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000208:ethnology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000821:virology; D027383:Papillomaviridae; D030361:Papillomavirus Infections / Q000150:complications*; D013022:South Carolina; D059467:Transcriptome; D044465:White People
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral
keywords: African American; cancer health disparities; gene expression; head and neck cancer; human papillomavirus (HPV)