HPV-16 infection modifies overall survival of Puerto Rican HNSCC patients

• Published in: Infectious agents and cancer Vol. 11; no. 1; p. 47
• Main Authors: Rivera-Peña, Bianca, Ruíz-Fullana, Francisco J, Vélez-Reyes, Germán L, Rodriguez-Benitez, Rosa J, Marcos-Martínez, María J, Trinidad-Pinedo, Juan, Báez, Adriana
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 24-08-2016; BioMed Central
• Subjects: Biological markers; Cancer patients; Care and treatment; Diagnosis; Health aspects; Influence; Papillomavirus infections; Patient outcomes; Squamous cell carcinoma; Overall Survival (OS); Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma; Biomarker; TNM; Human Papillomavirus (HPV)
• ISSN: 1750-9378; 1750-9378
• DOI: 10.1186/s13027-016-0095-4

HPV-16 modifies the overall survival (OS) of patients with oropharyngeal cancer (OPSCC). HPV-16 has been established as risk factor for OPSCC, but HPV-16 infection may also reside in the larynx and oral cavity. We evaluated HPV-16 status on OS of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC) patients.
HPV-16 infection was confirmed by amplification of E6 and E7 viral oncogenes through PCR assay and E6 IHC in 185 HNSCC samples. Associations between HPV-16 status and clinicopathological parameters were performed using Fisher's exact test and x(2). Survival analysis was completed using Kaplan-Meier estimator and multivariate Cox regression analysis.
OS of HPV-16 positive patients was longer compared to HPV-16 negative patients (P = 0.002). HPV-16 positive tumors of the larynx (LSCC) and pharynx (PSCC) showed improved OS compared to HPV-16 negative tumors. Also, HPV-16 positive patients exposed to radiotherapy presented a better survival.
HPV-16 status has a positive prognostic value in HNSCC. Addition of HPV-16 status to the TNM staging can provide better assessment in prognosis and guide treatment for HNSCC patients.