Human Papillomavirus Infection in 674 Chinese Patients with Laryngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Abstract

ObjectivesPrevious reports suggest a strong association between human papillomavirus (HPV) and the etiology of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC). However, clinical data regarding the HPV infection rate among LSCC patients remain largely inconsistent.MethodsIn total, 674 LSCC patients from three major hospitals in Shanghai were enrolled in this study. We determined the patients' HPV infection status using immunohistochemistry and the GenoArray HPV genotyping assay and calculated their long-term survival rate using the Kaplan-Meier method.ResultsThe total P16-positive rate according to immunostaining results was 7.57% (51/674). None of the P16-negative patients were HPV-positive according to the HPV genotyping test. The rate of HPV infection among patients with LSCC was 4.9% (33/674). HPV infection was more common among nonsmokers (P<0.05), nondrinkers (P<0.05), and patients with supraglottic LSCC (P<0.05). Of the 33 HPV-positive patients, 28 (84.8%) were infected with HPV-16, 2 with HPV-18, 1 with HPV-31, 1 with HPV-33 and 1 with HPV-45. The 3-year overall survival rate and progression-free survival rate were higher in HPV-positive than HPV-negative patients, but the difference was not statistically significant (76.3% vs. 70.7%, P = 0.30 and 65.1% vs. 58.3%, P = 0.37, respectively).ConclusionHPV was not a main causal factor in LSCC carcinogenesis in this Chinese population. HPV infection did not alter patients' overall survival or progression-free survival rates in this study.

Association study of cell cycle proteins and human papillomavirus in laryngeal cancer in Chinese population

“…This is comparable with previous studies where overall HPV DNA prevalence in LSCC was 13.5% . However, Xu et al reported a markedly lower HPV infection rate than in our current study, which is only 4.9%. There is a distinct but rare subgroup of patients who have recurrent respiratory papillomatosis, which is caused by “low‐risk” HPV genotypes 6 and 11 and is associated with malignant transformation .…”

“…This is comparable with previous studies where overall HPV DNA prevalence in LSCC was 13.5% 11,13. However, Xu et al14 reported a markedly lower HPV…”

The rising rate of nonsmokers among laryngeal carcinoma patients: Are we facing a new disease?

“…The rates of laryngeal SCC in nonsmokers demonstrated in this cohort are greater than what has previously been presumed; various publications between 1997 and 2012 reported a rate ranging from 2.9% to 5.8% . The first published evidence that revealed an increase in the rate of nonsmoking laryngeal SCC patients was described by Xu et al in 2014, who reported a rate as high as 17% . This trend was recently noticed by others and presented in two separate conference presentations from the United States in 2017; these presentations reported an updated rate of 13.2% and 24% for nonsmokers.…”

Prognostic implications of human papillomavirus status and p16 expression in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma

“…This finding is consistent with a similar study of 318 early stage LSCC cases, which showed that patients with HPV‐positive tumors had significantly better OS ( P = .038) and RFS ( P = .006) than those with HPV‐negative tumors . Two other studies found that HPV‐positive LSCC patients had better survival outcomes compared with HPV‐negative cases, although these differences were not statistically significant . In contrast, a study by Chung et al, showed that patients with HPV‐positive non‐oropharyngeal head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) did not have significantly better progression‐free survival (PFS; HR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.44‐1.33; P = .35) or OS (HR, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.34‐1.21; P = .17) than patients with HPV‐negative tumors .…”