Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinomas Associated with Human Papillomaviruses and an Increased Incidence of Cervical Pathology

Abstract

Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) have been identified in benign and cancerous epithelial lesions of the female genital tract. They have also been identified in papillomata and cancers of the upper aerodigestive tract. This study investigates the hypothesis that lesions of the cervicovaginal area are more common in women with cancers of the head and neck region. The presence of HPV in lesions of both regions is examined. Seven female patients with cancer of the upper aerodigestive tract had DNA analysis of their carcinoma specimens. HPV type 16 was found in two of the seven (28%). Fourteen female patients with upper aerodigestive tract cancers had Papanicolaou smears to search for cytologic evidence of HPV infection, and cervicovaginal lavages to analyze DNA from exfoliated cervical cells. Five of thirteen (38%) Papanicolaou smears revealed koilocytotic atypia and three of these patients had HPV DNA types 16 or 18 identified in the cervical lavage. The incidence of cervical atypia noted is 13-fold greater than average. One patient had HPV type 16 in both her supraglottic cancer and in her cervicovaginal lavage. Evidence of HPV infection at two separate anatomic sites suggests a systemic susceptibility to HPV infection.

Human papillomavirus and cancerous diseases of the head and neck: a systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…The remaining papers were analyzed, and from these, 31 articles with no pertinent full text as well as 38 articles with different study design (37 systematic reviews and one meta‐analysis) were excluded. For our analysis, 78 papers were finally selected: 63 with cross‐sectional study design (Lee et al , , , ; Perez‐Ayala et al , ; Bradford et al , ; Morgan et al , ; Tsuchiya et al , ; Wang et al , ; Watts et al , ; Furuta et al , ; Brandwein et al , ; Holladay and Gerald, ; Noble‐Topham et al , ; Woods et al , ; Clayman et al , ; Fliss et al , ; Gorgoulis et al , , ; Chiominto et al , ; Alvarez Alvarez et al , ; Lie et al , ; Shen et al , ; Snijders et al , ; Bernauer et al , ; Paz et al , ; Portugal et al , ; Elamin et al , ; Matzow et al , ; Lindeberg and Krogdahl, ; Rodrigo et al , ; Badaracco et al , ; Venuti et al , , ; Kaya and Kotiloglu, ; Klussmann et al , ; Premoli‐De‐Percoco and Ramirez, ; El‐Mofty and Lu, ; Báez et al , ; Kleist et al , ; Reidy et al , ; Smith et al , ; Begum et al , ; Tachezy et al , ; Torrente et al , ; Hammarstedt et al , ; Gallegos‐Hernández et al , ; Romanitan et al , ; Ryerson et al , ; Simonato et al , ; Baumann et al , ; Gudleviciene et al , ; Jo et al , ; Angiero et al , ; Attner et al , ; Hai‐Rong et al , ; Lo et al , ; MacHado et al , ; Crawford et al , ; Dahlstrom et al , ; Duray et al ,…”

“…The remaining papers were analyzed, and from these, 31 articles with no pertinent full text as well as 38 articles with different study design (37 systematic reviews and one meta-analysis) were excluded. For our analysis, 78 papers were finally selected: 63 with crosssectional study design (Lee et al, 1988(Lee et al, , 2008(Lee et al, , 2011Perez-Ayala et al, 1990;Bradford et al, 1991;Morgan et al, 1991;Tsuchiya et al, 1991;Wang et al, 1991;Watts et al, 1991;Furuta et al, 1992;Brandwein et al, 1993;Holladay and Gerald, 1993;Noble-Topham et al, 1993;Woods et al, 1993;Clayman et al, 1994;Fliss et al, 1994;Gorgoulis et al, 1994Gorgoulis et al, , 1999Chiominto et al, 1995;Alvarez Alvarez et al, 1996;Lie et al, 1996;Shen et al, 1996;Snijders et al, 1996;Bernauer et al, 1997;Paz et al, 1997;Portugal et al, 1997;Elamin et al, 1998;Matzow et al, 1998;Lindeberg and Krogdahl, 1999;Rodrigo et al, 1999;Badaracco et al, 2000;Venuti et al, 2000Venuti et al, , 2004Kaya and Kotiloglu, 2001;Klussmann et al, 2001;Premoli-De-Percoco and Ramirez, 2001;El-Mofty and Lu, 2003;B aez et al, 2004;…”

Relationship of human papillomavirus to ploidy in squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck

“…HPV has been found in 10% to 80% of squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck, [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] although in the series with greater numbers of patients, the percentage of positive cases is found to be about 20%. 6,13 In this work we find a 22.5% integration frequency of the E6 gene for HPV-16 and HPV-6b.…”

“…[1][2][3] In the past few years, a similar relationship has been established between HPV and carcinoma of the upper aerodigestive tract. [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] There are at least 60 genotypes of HPV, of which HPV types 6 and 11 are associated customarily with laryngeal papillomas, whereas types 6b, 16, and 18 have been related to neoplasias of the same location. [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] The HPV genome contains eight genes, two of which (E6 and E7 genes) are very similar to genotypes 16 and 18, which are associated with cervical carcinomas.…”

“…[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] There are at least 60 genotypes of HPV, of which HPV types 6 and 11 are associated customarily with laryngeal papillomas, whereas types 6b, 16, and 18 have been related to neoplasias of the same location. [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] The HPV genome contains eight genes, two of which (E6 and E7 genes) are very similar to genotypes 16 and 18, which are associated with cervical carcinomas. 15,16 The cells transfected with the E6 and E7 genes become immortalized, do not differentiate normally, and grow more rapidly than nontransfected cells.…”