There is growing evidence that human papillomavirus (HPV), in particular HPV16, may be involved in development of some head and neck (HN) squamous cell carcinomas (SCC). However, the prevalence of HPV and its prognostic potential is still the subject of worldwide discussion. Therefore, the aim of our study was to assess the frequency of HPV, its type and prognostic role in patients with HNSCC from south-central Poland.
The study was carried out in the group of 113 patients with SCC of oral cavity, pharynx or larynx. Experiments were performed using DNA isolated from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumour samples. HPV infection was assessed using nested PCR with PGMY/GP+ primers (according to our best knowledge for the first time in Poland) based on 3-4 experiments for each tissue. Virus type was analyzed by real-time PCR.
DNA was obtained from the material of 109 patients. Based on nested PCR results we qualified 60 (55.0%) of 109 tumours as HPV positive and the infection was confirmed by real-time PCR in 39 (35.8%) of them. The proportion of HPV infection was the highest in oropharyngeal tumours (48.5% of positive cases; 33/68), whereas in oral and hypopharyngeal ones were 20.8% (5/24) and 14.3% (1/7) respectively. None of laryngeal cancer (0/10) had viral infection. HPV16 was the predominant type (82.1%). We also identified 3 cases of HPV35 and 4 of dual infection (HPV35 together with HPV16 or HPV18). The experiments are ongoing and complete data concerning correlation between HPV presence and patients’ survival will be presented during conference.
Some head and neck cancers (mostly within oropharynx) in south-central Poland seem to be HPV-driven, mainly as a result of HPV16 infection, less often because of HPV35 or HPV18.
The study was partially financed by the National Science Centre, Poland project No. 2016/21/N/NZ5/00227.