Abstract

Current data advocate that oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) should be divided into subsites when evaluating the presence of human papillomavirus (HPV) and prognosis. More specifically, tonsillar squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) and base of tongue squamous cell carcinoma (BOTSCC) have much higher HPV prevalence compared to other OPSCC. Moreover, patients with HPV positive (HPV+) TSCC and BOTSCC have a better prognosis as compared to patients with HPV negative (HPV−) corresponding tumors, while the prognostic role of HPV in other OPSCC is unclear. Furthermore, in a recent report from Denmark, TSCC was further subclassified into specified TSCC (STSCC) and nonspecified TSCC (NSTSCC), with HPV significantly more prevalent in STSCC. In this study, the histopathological influence of HPV prevalence and survival in TSCC was analyzed in a TSCC cohort with known HPV status, of patients diagnosed 1970–2002 in Stockholm. In total, 139 TSCC biopsies with both tumor and adjacent normal tissue were separated into STSCC and NSTSCC. HPV was significantly more commonly found in STSCC than in NSTSCC. Patients with HPV+ STSCC had a better disease‐specific and overall survival as compared to patients with HPV+ NSTSCC, but no survival differences were observed in patients with HPV− STSCC and NSTCC. These findings confirm previous reports and suggest that TSCC subsite may also be of relevance for clinical outcome and should be further followed up in future studies.

Highlights

  • It is only a decade ago since the International Agency of Research on Cancer (IARC) declared a casual role of human papillomavirus (HPV) in the etiology of cancer of the oropharynx and the tonsil [1]

  • There was a significant overrepresentation of specified TSCC (STSCC) in patients with HPV+ tonsillar squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) as compared to patients with HPV− TSCC (56 (75%) HPV+ STSCC and 19 (25%) HPV+ nonspecified TSCC (NSTSCC) vs. 13 (20%) HPV− STSCC and 51 (80%) HPV− NSTSCC; P < 0.0001) (Fig. 1E)

  • HPV+ status was significantly more frequently associated with STSCC as compared to NSTSCC, and patients with HPV+ STSCC had a significantly better prognosis compared to those with HPV+ NSTSCC

Read more

Summary

Introduction

It is only a decade ago since the International Agency of Research on Cancer (IARC) declared a casual role of human papillomavirus (HPV) in the etiology of cancer of the oropharynx and the tonsil [1]. HPV-­ positive (HPV+) and HPV-­negative (HPV−) oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) have been accepted as two different diseases, with a more favorable outcome in the former as compared to the latter. According to the latest American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging manual, 8th edition, OPSCC should be separated into HPV-a­ssociated and nonassociated tumors, as classified by p16INK4a (p16) overexpression by immunohistochemistry (IHC) [2, 3]. Accumulating data suggests that OPSCC should be divided into subsites when assessing HPV and outcome. In a recent published meta-­analysis, the HPV prevalence varied considerably between different OPSCC subsites [4]. While tumors arising in tissues harboring crypts (TSCC and BOTSCC) had high HPV numbers, the tumors at the other subsites

Objectives
Methods
Results
Conclusion
Full Text
Published version (Free)

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call