Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2014 Jun;50(6):565-74.
doi: 10.1016/j.oraloncology.2013.09.008. Epub 2013 Oct 14.

The clinical impact of HPV tumor status upon head and neck squamous cell carcinomas

Eleni Benson  1 , Ryan Li  2 , David Eisele  3 , Carole Fakhry  4
Affiliations
Review

The clinical impact of HPV tumor status upon head and neck squamous cell carcinomas

Eleni Benson et al. Oral Oncol. 2014 Jun.

Abstract

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is etiologically responsible for a distinct subset of head and neck squamous cell cancers (HNSCCs). HPV-positive HNSCCs (HPV-HNSCCs) most commonly arise from the oropharynx and are responsible for the increasing incidence of oropharyngeal SCC (OSCC) in the United States (US) and abroad. HPV-positive OSCC (HPV-OSCC) has a unique demographic and risk factor profile and tumor biology. HPV-OSCC patients tend to be white, younger, and have a higher cumulative exposure to sexual behaviors as compared with HPV-negative OSCC patients. HPV-positive tumor status also significantly improves survival, and is indeed the single strongest prognostic factor for OSCC. The mechanisms that underlie the improved prognosis conferred by HPV-positive disease are unknown. The purpose of this review is to describe the clinical impact of HPV status in HNSCC, particularly in OSCC, both in terms of the unique clinic-demographic profile and prognostic implications.

Keywords: HPV; Head and neck cancer; Oropharyngeal neoplasms; Prognosis; Risk factors.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest statement

None declared.

References

    1. Sikora AG, Toniolo P, DeLacure MD. The changing demographics of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma in the United States. Laryngoscope. 2004;114(11):1915–23. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/01.mlg.0000147920.66486.bc. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Mehanna H, Beech T, Nicholson T, El-Hariry I, McConkey C, Paleri V, et al. Prevalence of human papillomavirus in oropharyngeal and nonoropharyngeal head and neck cancer-systematic review and meta-analysis of trends by time and region. Head Neck. 2012 [Epub 2012/01/24]. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/hed.22015. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Chaturvedi AK, Engels EA, Pfeiffer RM, Hernandez BY, Xiao W, Kim E, et al. Human papillomavirus and rising oropharyngeal cancer incidence in the United States. J Clin Oncol. 2011;29(32):4294–301. [Epub 2011/10/05]. doi: http://dx.doi.org/JCO.2011.36.4596[[pii] 10.1200/JCO.2011.36.4596. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Shiboski CH, Schmidt BL, Jordan RC. Tongue and tonsil carcinoma: increasing trends in the US population ages 20–44 years. Cancer. 2005;103(9):1843–9. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/cncr.20998. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Colevas AD. Population-based evaluation of incidence trends in oropharyngeal cancer focusing on socioeconomic status, sex, and race/ethnicity. Head Neck. 2013 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/hed.23253. - DOI - PubMed