Frequency of Human Papillomavirus in Larynx Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Clinicopathological Correlation of P53 and Ki-67 Expression

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Human papillomavirus (HPV) infections have been discussed with regard to laryngeal carcinogenesis in recent years. This study investigated the presence of HPV in larynx squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) via immunohistochemistry and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) array hybridization method and the relationship between p53 and Ki-67 expression with HPV presence and clinicopathological parameters. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 47 patients who had been operated on for larynx SCC were retrospectively included in the study. PanHPV, HPV-16, HPV18, p53, and Ki-67 immunohistochemical stains were applied to cross-sections obtained from wax blocks by means of an avidin-biotin complex system. DNA was isolated from the cross-sections. The presence of HPV was investigated via the HybriBio HPV GenoArray diagnostic kit. RESULTS: Polyclonal HPV positivity was detected only in 15 (31.9%) cases by means of PCR array hybridization method. Contrary to the literature, HPV-68 was found in two cases. In HPV (PCR)-positive cases, Ki-67 staining was found at high grade (p=0.01). The expression of p53 (p=0.041) increased as differentiation decreased in tumors. When comparing Ki-67, panHPV (p=0.004), and HPV-16 (p=0.002) staining, the expression of Ki-67 was higher than others in positive cases. CONCLUSION: Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues can be used to indicate the presence of HPV. The use of the HybriBio HPV GenoArray test was much more straightforward than other methods and is useful in detecting HPV DNA. In the literature, no HPV-68 virus was detected in larynx SCCs until recently. The expression of Ki-67 and p53 could be central to the prognosis in larynx SCCs.