The Genomics, Epigenomics, and Transcriptomics of HPV-Associated Oropharyngeal Cancer--Understanding the Basis of a Rapidly Evolving Disease

Abstract

Human papillomavirus (HPV) has been shown to represent a major independent risk factor for head and neck squamous cell cancer, in particular for oropharyngeal carcinoma. This type of cancer is rapidly evolving in the Western world, with rising trends particularly in the young, and represents a distinct epidemiological, clinical, and molecular entity. It is the aim of this review to give a detailed description of genomic, epigenomic, transcriptomic, and posttranscriptional changes that underlie the phenotype of this deadly disease. The review will also link these changes and examine what is known about the interactions between the host genome and viral genome, and investigate changes specific for the viral genome. These data are then integrated into an updated model of HPV-induced head and neck carcinogenesis.

Keywords: Cancer; Epigenetics; Genomics; HNSCC; HPV; Methylation; Oropharynx; Papillomavirus; SCC.