title: Impact of human papillomavirus on head and neck squamous cell cancers in Gabon.
abstract: Head and neck squamous cell cancers are among the most aggressive. Their incidence and mortality rates are relatively lower in Middle Africa than worldwide, but in Gabon, these rates tend to be 2-3 fold higher than in neighboring countries. The main risk factors are alcohol and tobacco consumption. However, in the last decades, there was cumulated evidence that human papillomaviruses were a significant risk factor, particularly for oropharyngeal squamous cell cancer. In Gabon, as elsewhere in Africa, assessment of these 3 risk factors need to be improved to determine their respective role in the development of head and neck squamous cell cancers. The potential differences in alcohol/tobacco consumption habits as well as in infectious ecology between developing and developed countries can make it difficult to transpose current data on this issue. Determining the respective role of alcohol/tobacco consumption and human papillomaviruses in the development of head and neck squamous cell cancers is crucial for the management of these cancers that could become a serious public health issue in Gabon. Human papillomaviruses are not only a risk factor but also a biomarker with promising clinical potential for the follow-up of head and neck squamous cell cancers potentially able to select an adequate treatment. Then, assessing the epidemiological impact of human papillomaviruses in Gabon and in all of Africa would prove useful for the clinical follow-up of head and neck squamous cell cancers, and would also provide essential data to plan a global prevention strategy against head and neck squamous cell cancers due to human papillomaviruses.
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoonosis and Emerging Diseases, Centre International de Recherches Médicales de Franceville - Gabon (CIRMF - GABON), B.P. 769 Franceville, Gabon.
authors.forename: Labouba
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ingrid
authors.affiliation: Department of Maxillofacial surgery, AP-HP, Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, F-75013 France ; UPMC, Université Paris 06, F-75005 Paris, France.
authors.forename: Bertolus
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Chloé
authors.affiliation: Cancer Institute of Libreville, Laboratory of Tumor Biology, Libreville, Gabon.
authors.forename: Koumakpayi Ismail
authors.initials: KI
authors.lastname: Hervé
authors.affiliation: Cancer Institute of Libreville, Laboratory of Tumor Biology, Libreville, Gabon.
authors.forename: Belembaogo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ernest
authors.affiliation: Department of ENT, Omar Bongo Ondimba Army Instruction Hospital, Libreville, Gabon.
authors.forename: Miloundja
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jérôme
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoonosis and Emerging Diseases, Centre International de Recherches Médicales de Franceville - Gabon (CIRMF - GABON), B.P. 769 Franceville, Gabon ; Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR3569, 25 rue du docteurRoux, 75724 Paris, France.
authors.forename: Berthet
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Nicolas
keywords: Alcohol; Biomarker; HNSCC; HPV; Middle Africa; Oral cavity; Oropharynx; Tobacco; Vaccination