title: Prevalence of human papillomavirus types and variants and p16(INK4a) expression in head and neck squamous cells carcinomas in São Paulo, Brazil.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Human papillomavirus (HPV) prevalence in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) diverges geographically. The reliability of using p16(INK4a) expression as a marker of viral infection is controversial in HNSCC. We evaluated HPV types and HPV-16 variants prevalence, and p16(INK4a) expression in HNSCC specimens provided by two different Institutions in São Paulo.
  
  
  METHODS
  HPV DNA from formalin-fixed specimens was accessed by Inno-LiPA, HPV-16 variants by PCR-sequencing, and p16(INK4a) protein levels by immunohistochemistry.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, HPV DNA was detected among 19.4 % of the specimens (36/186). Viral prevalence was higher in the oral cavity (25.0 %, 23/92) then in other anatomical sites (oropharynx 14,3 %, larynx 13.7 %) when samples from both Institutions were analyzed together. HPV prevalence was also higher in the oral cavity when samples from both Institutions were analyzed separately. HPV-16 was the most prevalent type identified in 69.5 % of the HPV positive smaples and specimens were assigned into Asian-American (57.2 %) or European (42.8 %) phylogenetic branches. High expression of p16(INK4a) was more common among HPV positive tumors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results support a role for HPV-16 in a subset of HNSCC.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Biology Laboratory, Center of Translational Research in Oncology, Instituto do Câncer do Estado de São Paulo, Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil (ICESP), São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Julio C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Betiol
authors.affiliation: Molecular Biology Laboratory, Center of Translational Research in Oncology, Instituto do Câncer do Estado de São Paulo, Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil (ICESP), São Paulo, Brazil.|Center of Translational Oncology - ICESP, Av. Dr. Arnaldo, 251, 8 andar, 01246-000, Cerqueira César, São Paulo, SP Brazil.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sichero
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaringology, Santa Casa de Sao Paulo, School of Medicine (FCMSCSP), São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Henrique O de Olival
authors.initials: HOO
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.affiliation: Department of Head and Neck Surgery, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Leandro L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: de Matos
authors.affiliation: HPV Institute, Santa Casa de Sao Paulo, School of Medicine (FCMSCSP), São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Maria A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Andreoli
authors.affiliation: Molecular Biology Laboratory, Center of Translational Research in Oncology, Instituto do Câncer do Estado de São Paulo, Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil (ICESP), São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Silvaneide
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Cancer Institute of São Paulo (ICESP), São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Sheila F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Faraj
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Cancer Institute of São Paulo (ICESP), São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Evandro S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: de Mello
authors.affiliation: Molecular Biology Laboratory, Center of Translational Research in Oncology, Instituto do Câncer do Estado de São Paulo, Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil (ICESP), São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: João S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Sobrinho
authors.affiliation: Department of Head and Neck Surgery, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Lenine G
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Brandão
authors.affiliation: Department of Head and Neck Surgery, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Claudio R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Cernea
authors.affiliation: Department of Head and Neck Surgery, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marco A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Kulcsar
authors.affiliation: Department of Head and Neck Surgery, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Fabio R
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Pinto
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Santa Casa de Sao Paulo, School of Medicine (FCMSCSP), São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Antonio J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Gonçalves
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Santa Casa de Sao Paulo, School of Medicine (FCMSCSP), São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marcelo B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Menezes
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaringology, Santa Casa de Sao Paulo, School of Medicine (FCMSCSP), São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Leonardo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaringology, Santa Casa de Sao Paulo, School of Medicine (FCMSCSP), São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Lia M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Rossi
authors.affiliation: HPV Institute, Santa Casa de Sao Paulo, School of Medicine (FCMSCSP), São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Rafaella A Lima
authors.initials: RAL
authors.lastname: Nunes
authors.affiliation: HPV Institute, Santa Casa de Sao Paulo, School of Medicine (FCMSCSP), São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Lara
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Termini
authors.affiliation: Molecular Biology Laboratory, Center of Translational Research in Oncology, Instituto do Câncer do Estado de São Paulo, Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil (ICESP), São Paulo, Brazil.|HPV Institute, Santa Casa de Sao Paulo, School of Medicine (FCMSCSP), São Paulo, Brazil.|Department of Radiology and Oncology, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Luisa L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Villa
keywords: Head and neck cancer; Human papillomavirus; Molecular variants; Prevalence; p16INK4a