OROPHARYNGEAL SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA: A SERIES OF 152 CASES FROM RIO DE JANEIRO

Abstract

<h3>Objectives</h3> The aim of the present study was to evaluate the clinicopathologic features of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) in a population from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. <h3>Study Design</h3> One hundred fifty-two patients were diagnosed with primary OPSCC in an oral pathology laboratory between 2014 and 2020. Demographic and clinical data were retrospectively collected from the records and all cases were microscopically classified as keratinizing, nonkeratinizing, or nonkeratinizing with maturation. Immunohistochemistry for p16INK4a was performed in 46 cases (30.2%) and the positive ones were submitted to DNA in situ hybridization (ISH) for human papillomavirus (HPV). <h3>Results</h3> There were 29 females and 123 males, with a mean age of 61 years (range, 39-89). Most patients regularly consumed tobacco (69%) and alcohol (50.7%) and lived in low socioeconomic status areas. Most tumors measured more than 2 cm and were located mainly in the soft palate (48%), followed by unspecified oropharynx, tonsil, and base of the tongue. The 3 histologic subtypes were similarly distributed among the cases. Five cases were positive for p16INK4a (10.9%), and of these, 4 were positive for HPV by DNA ISH (8.7%), most of them nonkeratinizing. <h3>Conclusions</h3> HPV prevalence is low in OPSCC cases from this Brazilian population.