2. Academic Validation
  3. From HPV-positive towards HPV-driven oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas

From HPV-positive towards HPV-driven oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas

  • Cancer Treat Rev. 2016 Jan;42:24-9. doi: 10.1016/j.ctrv.2015.10.009.
Paolo Boscolo-Rizzo 1,  Michael Pawlita 2,  Dana Holzinger 2
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Department of Neurosciences, Regional Center for Head and Neck Cancer, University of Padua, Treviso, Italy. Electronic address: paolo.boscolorizzo@unipd.it.
  • 2 Division of Molecular Diagnostics of Oncogenic Infections, Research Program Infection and Cancer, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), F020, Heidelberg, Germany.
PMID: 26547133 DOI: 10.1016/j.ctrv.2015.10.009
Abstract

The incidence of HPV-positive oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC), which is both biologically and clinically distinct from tobacco- and alcohol-related OPSCC, is dramatically increasing. The finding that individuals with HPV-positive local/regionally advanced OPSCC have a significantly better prognosis than their negative counterparts have led to efforts to de-escalate treatment in those patients to avoid serious side effects and to improve their long-term quality of life, while maintaining treatment efficacy. Identifying diagnostic tests that are able to distinguish cancers etiologically associated with HPV is thus becoming a pressing challenge for researchers. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of the diagnostic tools presently available to evaluate HPV status in patients with OPSCC and, in particular, to discuss their strengths and weaknesses in identifying those infections that are the real driving force in the oropharyngeal carcinogenesis process.

Keywords

E6 mRNA; HPV DNA; Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma; Human papillomavirus; In situ hybridization; Oropharyngeal carcinoma; Serology; p16(INK4a) immunohistochemistry.

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