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. 2021 Apr 7;13(8):1755.
doi: 10.3390/cancers13081755.

Frequency and Localization of Second Primary Tumors in Patients with Oropharyngeal Carcinoma-The Influence of the Human Papilloma Virus

Salome L Bosshart  1 , Grégoire B Morand  1   2 , Martina A Broglie  1   2
Affiliations

Frequency and Localization of Second Primary Tumors in Patients with Oropharyngeal Carcinoma-The Influence of the Human Papilloma Virus

Salome L Bosshart et al. Cancers (Basel). .

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the frequency, localization, and survival of second primary tumors (SPT) of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) depending on human papillomavirus (HPV) status.

Methods: We performed a retrospective chart analysis of 107 OPSCC patients treated at the Zurich University Hospital from 2001 to 2010. Rate and localization of SPT after an index OPSCC were stratified according to smoking and HPV infection status.

Results: In total, 57/91 (63%) included patients showed an HPV-associated OPSCC. Of these, 37/57 (64.9%) patients with an HPV-positive and 32/34 (94.1%) patients with an HPV-negative OPSCC were smokers. The median age at diagnosis of the SPT was 59.54 years (interquartile range 52.7-65.6). In addition, 8/57 (14%) HPV-positive and 13/34 (38.2%) HPV-negative patients developed SPT. The rate of SPT in patients with HPV-positive index tumors was significantly lower than in patients with HPV-negative OPSCC (p-value 0.01). Smokers showed significantly more SPT in the head and neck area than outside. The development of an SPT led to a significantly lower survival time in HPV-negative patients, while it did not significantly affect the survival time of HPV-positive patients.

Conclusions: Patients with HPV-positive index tumors had a significantly lower risk of developing SPT than patients with HPV-negative tumors. If SPT developed, survival was significantly shorter in patients with HPV-negative tumors than with HPV-positive tumors.

Keywords: human papillomavirus; oropharyngeal squamous cell; second primary.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Distribution of SPT over time.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Kaplan–Meier survival plots of HPV-positive and HPV-negative patients. (Log-rank test: p-value = 0.037) and of patients with and without SPT (Log-rank test: p-value = 0.02).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Kaplan–Meier survival plots of HPV-positive patients with and without SPT. (Log-rank test: p-value = 0.514), Kaplan–Meier survival plot of HPV-negative patients with and without SPT (Log-rank test: p-value = 0.033), of HPV-negative and HPV-positive patients with SPT (Log-rank test: p-value = 0.054), and of patients with SPT in and outside the oropharynx (Log-rank test: p-value = 0.054).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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