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. 2020 Jun 9;10(1):9320.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-66323-z.

Age-independent increasing prevalence of Human Papillomavirus-driven oropharyngeal carcinomas in North-East Italy

Annarosa Del Mistro  1 , Helena Frayle  2 , Anna Menegaldo  3 , Niccolò Favaretto  4 , Silvia Gori  2 , Piero Nicolai  4 , Giacomo Spinato  3   5 , Salvatore Romeo  6 , Giancarlo Tirelli  7 , Maria Cristina da Mosto  3 , Jerry Polesel  8 , Paolo Boscolo Rizzo  3
Affiliations

Age-independent increasing prevalence of Human Papillomavirus-driven oropharyngeal carcinomas in North-East Italy

Annarosa Del Mistro et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

HPV-driven oropharyngeal carcinomas (OPCs) show geographical variations with increasing temporal trends in several areas. We investigated their frequency and clinical outcomes within a prospective multicenter cohort study in North-East Italy. A tumor was defined as HPV-driven by using at least two different biomarkers, usually HPV-DNA positivity and p16INK4A overexpression. Different survival outcomes were compared among patients with HPV-driven and non-HPV-driven tumors. Overall, 42/130 (32.3%) patients with newly diagnosed OPC during the period 2000-2018 resulted HPV-driven; HPV16 was involved in 37 cases (88%), HPV33 in 3 cases (7%), HPV58 and HPV18 in 1 case each. Over time, HPV-driven cases raised from 16.7% (6/36) during 2000-2006 to 46.1% (24/52) during 2013-2018 (p < 0.001). The increase in HPV-driven OPCs was more marked in females than males (p = 0.010), and the frequency of HPV-driven cases was similar in the different age groups. In comparison to cases with non-HPV-driven tumors, a significantly (p < 0.001) better progression-free and overall survival were recorded among patients affected by HPV-driven OPC. The prevalence of HPV-driven OPC cases has been significantly increasing during the last two decades also in North-East Italy and was associated with favorable outcome. OPCs driven by non-HPV16 oncogenic types were restricted to patients older than 68-yrs.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Prevalence of HPV-driven OPC by gender, age and year of diagnosis. OPC cases are grouped in three periods and the proportions of HPV-driven over total cases are shown.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Box plot analysis of age at diagnosis of patients with non-HPV-driven and HPV-driven (HPV16 or other hrHPV types) OPC.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Kaplan Meier estimates of survival outcomes in HPV-driven and non-HPV-driven oropharyngeal cancers. Distinct panels show different clinical outcomes.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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