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. 2018 Dec:6:58-62.
doi: 10.1016/j.pvr.2018.10.006. Epub 2018 Nov 1.

Human papillomavirus in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas in a South African cohort

Tumelo R Sekee  1 , Felicity J Burt  2 , Dominique Goedhals  2 , Jacqueline Goedhals  3 , Yuri Munsamy  1 , Riaz Y Seedat  4
Affiliations

Human papillomavirus in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas in a South African cohort

Tumelo R Sekee et al. Papillomavirus Res. 2018 Dec.

Abstract

Background: Most tumours of the head and neck are attributable to smoking and alcohol use, but an increasing proportion of head and neck tumours are caused by human papillomaviruses (HPVs). The aim of this study was to use in house molecular assays to detect and genotype HPV in biopsies from patients with histologically confirmed head and neck squamous cell carcinomas. In addition, the results were compared with p16 immunohistochemistry staining, which has been described as a potential marker for HPV infection.

Methods: Biopsies of squamous cell carcinomas of the oropharynx, nasopharynx, larynx and hypopharynx from 112 South African patients were screened using three PCR assays targeting the L1 and E6 regions of HPV and p16 immunohistochemical staining.

Results and conclusion: HPV was identified in 7 (6.3%) tumours, while 22 (19.6%) had positive p16 immunohistochemical staining. There was concordance between the results obtained using the three PCR assays. There was substantial agreement between the results of molecular tests and p16 immunohistochemistry for hypopharyngeal carcinomas, but only fair agreement for laryngeal and oropharyngeal carcinomas.

Keywords: Human papillomavirus; Hypopharyngeal carcinoma; Laryngeal carcinoma; Nasopharyngeal carcinoma; Oropharyngeal carcinoma.

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