High prevalence of discordant human papillomavirus and p16 oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas in an African American cohort.

Publication/Presentation Date

4-1-2016

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Most studies on human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) have been performed on white Americans. Our study examined the incidence of HPV in an African American oropharyngeal SCC cohort and its survival.

METHODS: African American patients with oropharyngeal SCC in a combined tumor registry were identified. HPV16 testing was performed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) from DNA extracted from tumor blocks. The p16 staining was performed using standard immunohistochemistry.

RESULTS: Forty-four patients were identified for analysis. Seventy-three percent of the tumors were HPV-positive. Only 39% of the patients who were HPV-positive were also p16-positive. Survival between all 3 tumor types, patients who tested HPV-positive/p16, HPV-positive/p16-positive, and HPV-negative/p16-negative was significantly different (p = .03). HPV/p16 status was significant on univariate and multivariate analysis.

CONCLUSION: HPV oropharyngeal SCC is strongly present in this African American cohort. Two thirds of the patients who were HPV-positive were p16-negative. Greater study is needed to explain the high p16 negativity among this HPV-positive oropharyngeal SCC African American cohort. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 38: E867-E872, 2016.

Volume

38 Suppl 1

Issue

Suppl 1

First Page

867

Last Page

872

ISSN

1097-0347

Disciplines

Medicine and Health Sciences

PubMedID

25962720

Department(s)

Department of Surgery

Document Type

Article

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