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
. 2014 Oct 1;135(7):1653-61.
doi: 10.1002/ijc.28811. Epub 2014 Mar 7.

High-risk HPV types and head and neck cancer

Dominique S Michaud  1 , Scott M Langevin, Melissa Eliot, Heather H Nelson, Michael Pawlita, Michael D McClean, Karl T Kelsey
Affiliations

High-risk HPV types and head and neck cancer

Dominique S Michaud et al. Int J Cancer. .

Abstract

Although HPV16 has been strongly implicated in oropharyngeal carcinogenesis, the role of other high-risk HPV types in the etiology of head and neck cancer remains unclear. To date, few data exist addressing the nature of the association between antibodies to oncogenic proteins of non-HPV16 HPVs in relation to head and neck cancer. We examined the relationship between multiple HPV types (HPV6, 11, 16, 18, 31, 33, 45, 52, 58) and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) in a large population-based case-control study (1069 cases and 1107 controls). Serological measures for HPV types included antibodies to L1, E6 and/or E7. In a secondary analysis, we excluded HPV16 seropositive subjects to examine independent associations with other high-risk HPVs. All analyses were adjusted for age, race, sex, education, smoking and alcohol consumption. Statistically significant associations were observed for HPV16, 18, 33 and 52 and risk of HNSCC after mutually adjusting for HPV types. Among HPV16 seronegative subjects, elevated risks of HNSCC were observed for HPV18 E6 (OR = 4.19, 95% CI = 1.26-14.0), HPV33 E6 (OR = 7.96, 95% CI = 1.56-40.5) and HPV52 E7 (OR = 3.40, 95% CI = 1.16-9.99). When examined by tumor type, associations with HPV18 and HPV33 remained statistically significant for oropharyngeal cancer, and HPV52 was associated with oral cancer. In addition, magnitude of associations for HNSCC increased markedly with increasing number of seropositive high-risk HPV infections. High-risk HPV types, other than HPV16, are likely to be involved in the etiology of HNSCC.

Keywords: HPV infection; head and neck cancer; oral cancer; oropharyngeal cancer.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

References

    1. Howlader N, Noone AM, Krapcho M, Garshell J, Neyman N, Altekruse SF, Kosary CL, Yu M, Ruhl J, Tatalovich Z, Cho H, Mariotto A, et al. SEER Cancer Statistics Review, 1975–2010. Bethesda, MD: National Cancer Institute; 2013. vol. http://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2010.
    1. de Souza DL, de Camargo Cancela M, Perez MM, Curado MP. Trends in the incidence of oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancers in Spain. Head & neck. 2012;34:649–54. - PubMed
    1. Blomberg M, Nielsen A, Munk C, Kjaer SK. Trends in head and neck cancer incidence in Denmark, 1978–2007: focus on human papillomavirus associated sites. Int J Cancer. 2011;129:733–41. - PubMed
    1. Chaturvedi AK, Engels EA, Anderson WF, Gillison ML. Incidence trends for human papillomavirus-related and -unrelated oral squamous cell carcinomas in the United States. J Clin Oncol. 2008;26:612–9. - PubMed
    1. Carvalho AL, Nishimoto IN, Califano JA, Kowalski LP. Trends in incidence and prognosis for head and neck cancer in the United States: a site-specific analysis of the SEER database. Int J Cancer. 2005;114:806–16. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances